Too Little Too Late
by cherrybomb13
Summary: Some things change...some people never will... AU spin off of Almost Perfect II
1. You're Not The Same

_**So I was going to wait to post this story, but it was KILLING me to wait, very impatient I am. This is an AU sequel of sorts that goes with Almost Perfect II. This little idea was just begging to be written, so I hope you enjoy it. Get ready for another roller coaster ride!**_

_**Thanks to TJ Sparkles for being my super awesome beta! Loves her!**_

* * *

Aiden Martin was downstairs in her by kitchen with her nine month old daughter Lexie, feeding her banana baby food.

"Guess what pretty girl? Daddy's coming home today, are you excited?" she asked.

The little girl's brown eyes sparkled as she smiled.

"You look just like him when you do that." she laughed.

Lexie was her pride and joy; she was the one thing that always made sense to her. Lately the little girl had been the only thing that made her happy.

After all of Aiden's problems during her by pregnancy and labor, she had seen a new side of Alex. That Alex was tender and loving and attentive and protective. The first six months of Lexie's life had been stress free for Aiden due to Alex's devotion to their family. The past three months he had been slipping. When he would go to tapings he wouldn't call like he usually did, he had begun drinking more frequently and going out to bars.

Aiden tried not to worry; she tried not to question her husband, because when she did it always escalated into a fight. He felt like she was nagging him, so he would lash out and say hurtful things or retreat to the guest room and lock himself in. He always knew how to hurt her the worst. She would go upstairs and cry and eventually fall asleep and in the morning sometimes it got better, others it didn't, and he would be gone. She just wanted the old Alex back and couldn't figure out why he was so distant.

Aiden pulled off Lexie's bib and wiped her mouth, "Come on and let's change before daddy gets home."

The little girl kicked her feet as she was lifted out of her high chair.

* * *

Around five in the afternoon Alex came trudging into the house. Aiden and Lexie were waiting at the door in cute little dresses.

Aiden went to him and stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, "Hey baby, I missed you so much."

She held out Lexie who was holding her arms out to her father, opening and closing her fists.

"Not right now babe, I've got a splitting headache." he dismissed.

Aiden bit her lip as she cradled her baby back to her chest.

"What's for dinner, I'm starving?" he asked.

Aiden swallowed her sadness and followed him into the dining room. She had just set out their plates of food on the candle lit table.

"I made your favorite; I even called your mom and got the recipe for her baked macaroni and cheese." Aiden smiled sitting at the table with Lexie on her lap.

Alex went to the fridge and grabbed a beer and came back to pick up his plate. He went into the living room without a word and turned on the hockey game. Aiden sat in shock at the table. She'd gone through so much trouble to prepare his favorite meal while taking care of Lexie and for him to not even acknowledge her efforts stung to say the least. She ate in the dining room with Lexie, blowing out the candles when she was done, and laid her daughter on a blanket on the floor while she cleaned up the dishes. Unfortunately, Lexie did not want to play on the floor and began screaming.

"Hold on, let Mommy finish this last one." Aiden said to her.

Alex came into the kitchen with a disgusted look on his face, "Damnit Aiden, what the hell about me having a fucking headache did you not understand?"

"Just pick her up, she's sleepy." Aiden said fighting tears.

He stepped over his daughter and grabbed another beer, "I'm going to lay down before I get a migraine."

He grumbled a few choice words as he went back out of the room. Aiden dried her hands quickly and lifter her daughter from the blanket.

So much for the romantic evening she had planned. He was very obviously not in the mood.

They went into the living room and rocked in the rocking chair until Lexie fell asleep. She took her upstairs and placed her in the crib and got in the bed with Alex who was already asleep.

He was in arms reach of her but he felt a million miles away. It was like she was in Paris again wishing on a star that they would be together again. She wanted the old Alex back so badly. It broke her heart to feel the division between them, but she just didn't know what else she could do about it. Nothing seemed to aggravate him more than when she tried to please him so she was at a loss. She hadn't told anyone about their problems, hoping they would fix themselves, but it was apparently going to be much harder than that.

She covered his hand with hers, not wanting to wake him in fear of another argument. In his sleep he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Tears stung her eyes. Why couldn't he do this when he was awake?

She had fallen asleep apparently, because in her foggy mind she could hear Alex calling her name and shaking her. She sat up quickly when she heard Lexie screaming through the baby monitor.

"Geez you sleep like a fucking rock. Will you go see what's wrong with her?" Alex asked.

"Why can't you do it?" Aiden asked sleepily.

"Because she wants her mommy, fuck Aiden, will you go get her, I'm trying to get ready." he growled going back into the bathroom.

She glared at him as she left, hearing him mumble "lazy" under his breath. Aiden rushed down the hall to her daughter's nursery and plucked her from her crib. She whispered in French to the baby to soothe her and she stopped crying almost immediately. Aiden changed her diaper before going back into her bedroom. She sat back on the bed, softly singing a French lullaby as she glanced at her husband who was in their walk in closet getting dressed.

"Where are you going?" she called.

"Out." Alex retorted.

"With who? Where?" Aiden asked.

She always got the worst anxiety when he went out. He came out of the closet looking like pure sex in his jeans that could make a woman's mouth water and a tight dark blue shirt. His hair was gelled perfectly, the mere sight of him made her heart skip a beat. "With James to a couple of bars." he sighed, "Should I wear my black or brown belt and shoes?"

He turned his head back to his cooing daughter and his wife who sat silently on the bed.

"I wish you wouldn't leave Alex, I mean you just got back a couple of hours ago. We miss you when you're gone." Aiden said quietly.

Alex rolled his eyes, "Here we go…I work very hard to support both of you, so you don't have to go back to work and can stay at home to raise our baby. If I want to go out with my friends I see nothing wrong with that. I wish YOU could realize that I don't get the chance to sit around on my ass all day and play with Lexie."

"You haven't even held her or kissed her since you've been home Lex. I just don't understand how you can do that." she said.

"Oh, because I'm a bad father now huh? Is that what you're saying?" Alex lashed out."

"No." Aiden whispered.

"See? You wonder why I leave, it's because of you. I can't do anything without getting grilled like a damn teenager." he shouted.

Lexie startled and began whimpering.

Aiden lowered her eyes to shush Lexie.

"Black." she muttered.

"What?" Alex snapped.

"You should wear your black belt and shoes." she said, hesitantly looking at him with tears in her eyes.

He put on his belt and sat on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes. He pulled on his leather jacket and looked at his reflection.

"I'll see you later." he called over his shoulder as he went downstairs.

"Love you too daddy." Aiden whispered letting her tears cascade down her face.


	2. Mrs Clean

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and TJ Sparkles for reviewing! And to TJ for being my AWESOME beta! xoxo **_

**_Read on and enjoy!_**

* * *

Aiden got up to feed Lexie again, who was getting fussy. It was going to be a long night, she could tell already. She sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for Alex to come home. She could never sleep when he went out because she worried about him so much. It was almost three in the morning when he finally came stumbling in. The bar stench hit her immediately as she stood up. It was the dicey combination of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and perfume that made her stomach turn.

"Are we gonna play twenty questions again or can I go to bed?" he fumed, swaying back and forth in the doorway.

Aiden shook her head slowly. Alex heaved out a sigh as he stomped upstairs. Aiden crossed her fingers that Lexie wouldn't wake up. They went to their bedroom. Alex undressed at the door before going to take a shower. Aiden scooped up the clothes to put them in the washer because she hated the smell of cigarettes.

She hung up his jacket and went downstairs with her arm full of clothes. She took his wallet out of his back pocket. Her heart skidded to a stop when two condoms dropped out of it and onto the tiled floor. She closed her eyes and tried to remain calm. Alex never used condoms when they had sex, which only meant one thing. She threw his jeans and shirt into the washer and was turning his boxers inside out when she saw lipstick on the waistband. She leaned back against the wall, completely light headed.

Not again.

She took the condoms and the boxers with her and raced back upstairs to check his jacket pocket. In it she found four numbers. Alex walked out and saw the evidence in her hands.

She turned her tear stained face back to him, "What are you doing? What is all of this, Alex?"

"What are you doing fucking snooping around in my shit for?" he shot back.

She threw the evidence in his face and pushed him, "Are those hickeys on your neck too? What kind of a man are you to go party with only God knows who? I am sick to death of your shit. I'm not going to let you disrespect me anymore. I'm done!"

With that she turned on her heel and went to her daughter's room and started packing a bag for her. As soon as Alex threw on a pair of boxers he went into the room and grabbed his wife's arm. He pulled her back into the hallway and gently closed the door.

"Neither one of you are leaving. We're going to go to bed and talk about all of this in the morning, do you understand?" he whispered harshly.

"You're right, we're not but I want you to leave. I don't want you here." she said, her voice full of false bravery.

Alex laughed, "This is my house, so I'm not going anywhere, and you are my wife and I'm telling you that we'll discuss this after we both get some sleep and cool down."

He took her arm and dragged her back down the hall. The only reason she wasn't putting up a fight was because her daughter was asleep. Alex pushed her toward the bed as he locked the door behind him. He pulled the covers back and laid down.

"Aiden, get in the fucking bed and stop being such a brat!" he ordered.

She checked the baby monitor before laying on top of the covers facing away from him.

"You're going to freeze." he muttered, frustrated by her defiance.

"I don't care." she hissed.

He was over her attitude. He snatched the covers from beneath her and pulled them back over her.

He pulled her to him, remorse finally seeping in, "I'm sorry babe."

"Fuck you Alex." she whispered haughtily as she took her pillow and wedged it between them.

"We'll talk in the morning then." he gave up.

* * *

Aiden waited until she heard him snoring before she cut off the baby monitor and slipped out of bed. She went to their closet and packed a large suitcase with as many clothes as she could. She packed her toiletries and slipped from the bedroom to Lexie's room and packed a bag for her as well. She went to the garage and heaved all of the suitcases into her vehicle before she went to get her daughter. She said a silent prayer as she lifted Lexie from the crib. The baby whimpered softly and then nuzzled into Aiden's neck. She closed the door behind her and went to the garage.

Lexie stayed asleep as she was being buckled into her car seat. Aiden got behind the wheel and pulled out of the garage and waited for it to close. She fished her cell phone from her purse and hesitantly hit the speed dial to Chris' cell phone. He was a lighter sleeper than Ajay and figured it was her best bet for the night.

"Hello?" he answered groggily.

"Hey Chris, umm it's Aiden." she said.

"Yeah, are you and Lexie okay?" he asked immediately.

She loved him for always worrying about her.

"Well we, uh, kinda need a place to stay, just for the night, if you don't mind." she rambled out.

"Of course not. I'll get up and wait for you." he said.

"Thank you Chris, you're the best." she said trying not to cry.

"Just be careful. I'll pull my car out of the garage so you don't have to bring Lexie out in the cold. Just pull in beside Ajay, okay, sweetheart?" he said.

"Okay." she smiled.

He was the sweetest guy she knew. It stung her when she remembered that Alex used to be that way too. When she pulled up the garage was open and Chris was sitting on the steps with his hoodie pulled over his head. He stood up and hit the button to close the door when she pulled in. He went to the driver's side and opened her door for her. He saw the tears in her eyes as she stood up. He pulled her into a hug, feeling her body tremble with emotion. He squeezed her tighter when he heard her sniffle.

"What happened?" he asked, wiping her tears away.

She shook her head, "I was a fool to believe Alex could be faithful, that's all."

He pecked her lips, "You get Lexie Lou and I'll get your suitcases."

She nodded; thankful he didn't push her to talk about her cheating husband. Lexie was still asleep in the backseat. Aiden was so thankful her daughter was a heavy sleeper like her father. Chris followed her up to the guest room and put her suitcases in the corner.

"Did you need anything for Lexie?" he asked.

Aiden smiled, "No, thank you though."

He pulled her back into a hug, Lexie between them, "Get some sleep okay? We'll talk in the morning."

Aiden laughed sadly, "That's what Alex said."

Chris grinned, "He doesn't know you left?"

"No. he said that it was his house and that I couldn't kick him out and that I was his wife and I needed to go to sleep and calm down and we would talk in the morning. After he slept off his hangover." she told him.

Chris rolled his eyes, "Was he acting weird before then too?"

Aiden nodded, "I don't care if he treats me like crap, but whenever he can ignore Lexie and not hold her or acknowledge her, that's when I've had enough. He's not just leaving me, he's leaving her too and I can't handle or accept that. I don't know, maybe he woke up one morning and decided he didn't want to be married with a baby but I am not going to put up with it." she said, tears falling down her face.

Chris pulled her to him again and kissed her cheek, "I'm sorry he's doing this again. It blows my mind how he almost lost you and now he's throwing you and his beautiful daughter aside."

Aiden nodded slowly, crying harder.

Chris bit his lip, "I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to make you feel worse."

"You didn't, I promise. The whole thing is just stupid." she sighed.

"Get some sleep beautiful, and if you need anything just come and get me okay?" he said.

"Okay." she said managing a weak smile.

He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Aiden laid her daughter down on the bed and surrounded her with pillows as she changed into a t-shirt and short little pajama shorts. She forced herself not to cry as she looked at the sleeping infant beside her. This was Alex's loss, not hers or Lexie's.

* * *

Early the next morning Ajay rolled over to her sleeping boyfriend and poked him awake.

"You're sleeping late for once." she laughed.

He yawned, "I had a late night last night. Aiden came over about four in the morning."

Ajay looked puzzled, "Why?"

Chris took a heavy breath, "Alex is at it again. She said he was being a dick and ignoring her and Lexie and then she found condoms in his wallet, lipstick on his boxers, and numbers in his pocket."

Ajay sprung out of bed and put on a pair of track pants and a long sleeved t-shirt.

"Ashton, what are you doing?" Chris asked getting dressed as well.

"I'm sick and tired of Alex hurting Cookie, and I think it's high time he knew that."

"What about Joey and Kenzie?" he questioned.

"You know how lightly Aiden sleeps; besides this shouldn't take long at all." Ajay grinned wickedly.

Chris shook his head, knowing whatever his girlfriend was planning was not going to be good for Alex. They went outside and drove to Alex's house.

She stormed up the stairs to the front door and rang the doorbell annoyingly until Alex showed his face.

"Ashton fucking Reso, if you touch that doorbell one more time…" Alex threatened, opening the door.

"You'll what?" Ajay dared stepping up to him.

Alex rolled his eyes, "So did Aiden go tattle on me or something?"

That was all it took to push Ajay to her limit. She reached back and punched Alex in the groin. Chris winced as Alex dropped to his knees, holding his package. He fell to his side, a strangled howl erupting from him.

"What was that for?" Alex gasped, barely finding his voice to speak.

"You know why." Ajay glared at him before she took Chris' hand and walked back to their car to head back home.

Alex was left in the fetal position on his front porch, trying to regain the use of his motor skills.

"That was a little much don't you think?" Chris asked.

"Not at all. He hurts my Cookie and my goddaughter I hurt him, it's that simple." Ajay replied.

Chris smiled and shook his head, you couldn't tell Ajay anything sometimes. They arrived back home and stepped into their house, stopping at the door.

"Weren't there a bunch of toys laying around here?" Chris asked, looking around.

"Yes and there was a whole load of laundry on the couch too." Ajay said, looking at her immaculate living room.

"Shouldn't the kids be running and screaming too, its nine o'clock?" he asked as they walked into the kitchen.

Aiden was standing over the stove with Joey perched on the cabinet beside her. Lexie and Kenzie were playing on the floor.

"Mommy!" Joey shouted, jumping off the cabinet and rushing into his mother's arms.

"Hey baby." she smiled, picking him up.

Kenzie teetered over to Chris with her arms raised. He picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"What's going on, Aiden?" Chris asked.

"Nothing. I woke up and fixed breakfast." she answered.

Lexie crawled to Aiden's legs and began whimpering. Aiden scooped her up and settled her on her hip as she turned back to the pancakes she was making. Ajay and Chris gave each other questioning looks.

"Mommy, I have to go to the potty." Joey squirmed.

Ajay went to the half bathroom down the hall with Joey.

"Aiden, did you clean in here?" Ajay called as Joey nodded.

"She cooked and cleaned all morning, Mommy." he told her.

Ajay went back to the kitchen. Chris had put Kenzie back on the floor with Lexie while he wolfed down his plate of food. Ajay narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend.

"What? She makes the best breakfast ever. It's right up there with your Gran's." he shrugged.

The time buzzed on the oven and Aiden went to it and removed a whole baking sheet of cookies.

Chris perked up, "Holy crap! Are those the cranberry white chocolate chip cookies that I love?" Aiden smiled and winked at him.

"What are those you're putting in?" he asked excitedly.

"S'more streusel bars." she answered, setting the timer.

Chris got out of his seat and hugged Aiden from behind, "Even if you and Alex do get back together, will you still live with us please?"

Aiden laughed, "You're crazy."

He grabbed four cookies and sat back down. Aiden stood with her hands on her hips, obviously looking for something to do.

"Where are those clothes from the couch?" Ajay pondered.

"A-Ten folded them pretty and we put them up while the babies were still asleep, and then A-Ten vacuumed, dusted, mopped and made me Frenchies because they're my favorite."

"What about the toys?" Ajay asked, not taking her eyes off of Aiden, who had yet to look at her.

Joey pulled on her, "I'll show you."

Ajay followed her son to his room, expecting to find it in disarray as it usually was. She gasped when she walked into his completely organized room.

"Member those plastic things you wanted me to put my stuff in? A-Ten put names on them so everything has a home." Joey smiled.

Out of curiosity she looked in his closet. All of the shoes and clothes were neatly folded and hung up. She went down the hall to Kenzie's room to see it had been tidied up as well. Then she went to the spar bathroom to see it too had been cleaned. She went into her bedroom to see the bed had been made and their laundry that was in a pile in the bathroom had been sorted and put into the hampers. Ajay went downstairs to see Aiden cleaning up the kitchen and loading the dishwasher.

"Cookie, what has gotten in to you?" Ajay asked.

Aiden looked at her innocently, "What do you mean?"

"The entire house is spotless; you're cooking enough food to feed the army, what is all of this about?" Ajay elaborated.

Aiden shrugged as she closed the dishwasher and sprayed the countertops down and began scrubbing them. Ajay watched her clean them for a few moments before she grabbed Aiden by the arm and pulled her into the den.

"Sit. Now." Ajay ordered.

Aiden sunk into the chair looking at the floor.

"Why are you doing all of this? My goodness Cookie, it would have taken Chris and me both two days to do what you've done." Ajay said.

"I couldn't sleep so I started last night cleaning the bathrooms." she confessed, "It just helps me not to be sad and cry. It keeps my mind off of Alex if I stay busy."

Ajay squeezed her friend's hand, "Well if it makes you feel any better Chris and I went over there this morning and I punched him in the balls for you."

"Ajay! Was he okay?" Aiden squealed.

She smirked, "He's probably got an ice pack on them right now but he deserved it."

Aiden shook her head trying not to smile, "We were thinking about having another baby, we can't very well do that if you have messed up his reproductive system."

Ajay shrugged, "He'll be fine, but back to you. I wanted to tell you if Chris hasn't already, you and Lexie are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you like. We love you and your cooking and this house has never been cleaner."

Aiden smiled, "I don't want to put you guys out. I mean you've already got two kids, I understand if you don't want to have to deal with another baby in your house."

Ajay looked at her friend like she had just slapped her, "Aiden. Harlow. Carlton. Martin. I can't believe you just said that. You would have to have ten Lexie's to make up one Joey or Kenzie. I was cursed with the rambunctious children; you were blessed with the sweet one."

"Are you sure?" Aiden asked, scrunching her nose.

"Absolutely." Ajay confirmed, hugging her best friend.

A piercing wail carried through the house.

"Sounds like Lex." Ajay said as Aiden sprung off the couch.

Chris had Lexie in his arms trying to calm her.

"Shhh…it's okay baby." he whispered.

Lexie screamed again, her head resting on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Aiden asked, rushing in.

"Joey accidentally spilled some of his juice on her dress." Chris smiled, kissing Lexie's cheek as he bounced her.

Lexie screamed again as she reached for Aiden. She lifted her baby from Chris' arms and whispered in French again as she inspected the spot on her dress. She continued speaking in French to Lexie as she went to her purse and took out her Tide to go pen. She sat Lexie on the counter and applied the pen to her dress. She watched her mother with her lip trembling.

Aiden smiled at her, lifting her chin up to look in her eyes, "Tous partis ma belle ange."

Lexie's brown eyes were still filled with tears as she reached her arms up again. Aiden kissed her as she picked her up.

"A-Ten, I sorry for making Lou Lou cry." Joey said.

"You didn't do anything wrong honey. Lexie is just a girly girl." Aiden said, "Thank you for apologizing though, that was very sweet of you."

"Lexie Lou is a spoiled rotten baby, that's all." Ajay smiled at her son, ruffling his hair.

Aiden covered her baby's ears and gawked at Ajay, "I know you're not talking. Kenzie is just as 'well taken care of' as Lexie is."

"That's what you call it." Ajay teased.

Aiden stuck her tongue out at her.

"I love it when you do that." Chris commented.

"What?" Aiden asked cradling Lexie to her.

"Speak French to her. I think it's cool and it seems like she knows what you're saying." Chris smiled.

"Well, if she's going to be a fashionista like her Mommy, she's got to learn." Aiden said, kissing the top of Lexie's head, "I'm going to go put her down for a nap."

Chris looked at Ajay when Aiden left, "So is she going to stay?"

Ajay nodded, "She said she didn't want to be a problem, how hilarious is that?"

"That's Aiden for you though." he grinned, handing his daughter her juice cup.

* * *

_**Cute little chapter :o) Thanks for reading!**_


	3. I Just Crush A Lot

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and Alice Jericho for reviewing xoxo**_

**_And please give a round of applause to my super badass beta TJ Sparkles for KNOCKING these chapters out. You rock girl!_**

**_Read on :)_**

* * *

The next morning Aiden was up bright and early again, cooking breakfast. Lexie was in Kenzie's swing in the kitchen, still asleep.

"Did we tell you we love having you here?" Chris yawned, pulling on a t-shirt as he walked into the kitchen.

Aiden nodded, handing him a cup of coffee.

He leaned back against the counter beside her, looking at Lexie, "She's so cute."

"Thank you. I'm pretty fond of her myself." Aiden smiled.

Chris watched Aiden out of the corner of his eye, "So have you talked to Alex yet?"

Aiden shook her head, "Guess we're not one of his priorities."

Chris turned and massaged her neck with his free hand, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He's the one missing out, not me." she responded quickly.

He studied her carefully.

"Didn't sleep well again?" he asked.

"No." she said.

He took the spatula from her hand, "Go back upstairs and get some rest. Leave Lexie, I'll take care of her and no arguing."

She frowned but went upstairs anyways. A few hours later she woke up to the sounds of thundering footsteps just outside of her door. Joey and Kenzie were giggling and screaming. She crawled out of bed and tentatively went to the door.

"Joey! Bring Kenzie's diaper back now!" Chris shouted as he ran past the guest room.

On the way downstairs he saw Kenzie roaming around sans her diaper and grabbed her up. She was giggling and squirming in Aiden's arms as she went to the kitchen. Ajay was sitting at the table with Lexie on her lap, feeding her little spoonfuls of oatmeal.

Aiden smiled at the content look on her daughter's face. She really was a well behaved baby.

"Trade ya?" Aiden grinned, holding onto the squirming toddler.

"Nope." Ajay said, feeding Lexie another bite.

"Why not?" Aiden pouted.

Ajay batted her eyes up at Aiden, "Because my kids are never this docile and sweet."

Aiden sighed, "Fine. I'll go get her another diaper."

Lexie grinned up at her mother then at Ajay, who fed her another bite.

"Say thanks mommy! She's got to let you go some time huh?" Ajay teased.

"You're just as clingy as I am." Aiden retorted.

"Not even close, Cookie." Ajay laughed.

Since Lexie had been born it had been a running joke about how Aiden never let her out of her sight. She rarely left her with anybody to do anything, not even Alex. She had never been separated from her daughter since she was born, and Ajay and Chris had been trying to help her with it. It was definitely a work in progress.

Aiden went upstairs to put a diaper back on Kenzie and handed her off to Chris, who had just finished putting Joey in timeout. She hopped in the shower and got dressed and was just finishing up her make up when Ajay came into her room.

"Cookie, I have a favor to ask." she said sitting on the bed with Lexie.

"What?" Aiden asked, picking up her baby.

"I need you to go pick Adam up from the airport if you don't mind. Jay's flight is coming later. Joey and Kenzie are being really wild today and I don't want to leave you or Chris to handle them." she said.

"Your brother Adam?" Aiden gasped.

Ajay cocked an eyebrow, "Yes…is that okay?"

Aiden wet her lips nervously, "Umm…yeah I've got to change though. What do you think I should wear?"

Ajay tilted her head to the side as she looked at her friend, "You're asking me for fashion advice? What the hell is wrong with what you have on?"

Aiden frowned, "I am not wearing jeans and a t-shirt to go pick your brother up."

"Why not? He doesn't care." she argued.

"Well I do." Aiden said, handing Lexie back to Ajay as she rummaged through the closet.

"Cookie, it's just Adam, it's not that big of a deal." she scoffed.

She didn't understand the obsession over her brothers at all. They were just her annoying over protective siblings to her.

"Yes, it is. Is this too much or should I keep looking? I think this top with this skirt, or maybe I should wear these jeans with these heels and those earrings." Aiden rambled, standing in the closet.

Ajay's head was spinning. Aiden had gone into full on fashionista mode. She carried Lexie back downstairs to let Aiden decide on an outfit. Chris was sitting on the floor, playing with Joey and Kenzie. He looked up when she put Lexie down, "What's the matter with you?"

"I think Aiden has a little crush on my brother." she confessed.

"Jay? It makes sense, they have a lot in common." he shrugged.

"Not Jay, Adam." she corrected.

"Adam! Babe, are you sure? I don't know if I like that or not." he argued.

"Why not?" she asked, preparing to defend her brother if she needed to.

"Because it's Adam. He's notorious for his womanizing ways, even you know that! I don't want Aiden to get hurt." he explained.

Ajay waved her hand at him, "She'd be too shy to do anything anyways, and I think Adam knows that she's not the hit and quit it type and that I would murder him if he tried that."

Chris calmed down a little bit, "You're going to say something to him aren't you?"

"No, because it's nothing. Let Cookie have her little crush, she's been having to deal with your dick head best friend for two years now, so she needs to have a little fun."

Chris shrugged, seeing Aiden come downstairs. She had on skinny jeans with knee high black furry boots and a skintight black Henley long sleeved shirt with a turquoise camisole peeking out. Her long blonde hair was done in loose curls that bounced with her steps.

"Do I look okay?' she asked tentatively.

"Like a very cute snow bunny." Ajay smiled.

"Chris?" Aiden asked.

"Why do you need to look cute? You're not trying to impress Adam, are you?"

"No, I just wanted to look nice that's all.' she defended.

"Cookie, do you have a crush on my brother?" Ajay asked with a grin.

Aiden picked up Lexie, "No, I don't. Why would you say that?"

"Because of the way you reacted when I told you he was coming.' Ajay suggested.

Aiden rolled her eyes, "He just makes me a little nervous because he always tries to embarrass me and I was thinking that maybe if I'm extra cute, he won't make a scene."

Aiden could almost see Ajay's little devil horns pop up, "You should embarrass HIM first. I've got just the thing."

She went to the kitchen and came back with a piece of bright pink construction paper and a Sharpie. She took Lexie from Aiden and handed the pen and paper to her, "Okay, write 'Adam Caveman Copeland' on there."

Aiden was shocked, "Ajay, no!"

Ajay scoffed, "Cookie, yes! Write it."

"No, because I won't have anyone there to stop him from retaliating." she balked.

Chris took the paper and pen from her and wrote in neat handwriting what Ajay had told him to write.

"I can't hold that up while I'm holding Lexie too.' Aiden said, trying to think of some way to get out of the little rib they were trying to make her pull.

"That's taken care of, she's staying here with us." Ajay smiled.

"No, I don't want to leave her because you've got your…" she said but was stopped by Chris putting his hand over her mouth.

"Lexie is an angel and will be no problem. You'll be gone a half hour max, she will be fine." he told her.

Aiden pulled his hand away, 'What if Alex comes by…"

He put his hand back over her mouth, "Then Ajay or I will punch him in the balls again. We're her godparents, so let us do our job, okay? You go and humiliate Adam." Ajay said.

Aiden sighed feeling her anxiety rising as she went to Lexie and kissed her, "I love you and be good, okay?"

Ajay took her tiny arm and made her wave, "Bye mommy, we'll be fine. Won't we, you sweet little thing?"

Chris walked her to the garage, "Be careful, the roads are still icy okay? Oh, and don't forget your sign."

Aiden bit her lip, looking back through the house at Lexie, who was smiling at Ajay and Joey.

Chris cupped her face, "She's fine, we love her as much as we love you okay?"

"I know, it's not that." she frowned.

Chris nodded, "you're her mom, she's your baby, I get it. Go pick up Adam, we'll be waiting for you, okay?"

He pecked her lips before she went to her car. Chris opened up the garage for her, waving as she backed out.

At the airport Aiden sat nervously, waiting for Adam's delayed flight. She kept tapping on the paper while keeping her eyes glued to the board listing all of the flights. Finally his plane landed and people began exiting. Aiden closed her compact and shouldered her tiny purse as she stood up in front of the gate and held up the sign. She could feel herself blushing as people walked past her smirking. Adam was near the back of the passengers and was tall enough to see to the front. His breath caught in his throat and his stride stumbled when he saw Aiden standing at the gate. He had expected Ajay, Chris, Joey and Kenzie, but welcomed this unexpected surprise. He felt unfamiliar butterflies in his stomach as he approached the tiny woman. He squinted his eyes to read the sign she was holding and smirked devilishly as he read it. That had his sister all over it. Aiden was far too sweet to do something like that. They locked eyes, hers nervously staring at him while his were full of mischief. He was plotting something, she could tell. He smiled his wicked smile and dropped his eyes.

What the hell was he so giddy for? It was just Aiden…incredibly sweet, incredibly sexy Aiden.

He walked up to her, full of swagger, and stopped right in front of her. She was holding her breath and was staring at his midsection, trying to keep her composure. She tentatively looked up at him, her full lips parted slightly. He had a smirk that sent chills down her spine as his green eyes watched her amusedly.

"Guess I'll go ahead and apologize for what I'm about to do to you." he grinned, dropping his bag.

"What?" she squeaked.

He picked her up in his arms, her furry boots dangling a foot and a half off the ground as he spun her around. She squealed as he spun her, hanging on to him for dear life. Finally, after several rotations, he put her back on the ground. His torment was not complete yet, however, because he began kissing her face and neck with what Ajay had dubbed "Cookie Monster" kisses. He was making loud 'muah' noises every time his lips contacted her skin. She was pushing against his chest, trying to get away from him with no progress whatsoever.

Finally he stopped and stood up to look down at her, "Geez, you're small! Did you shrink or something?"

Aiden blushed furiously, "No, you must have gotten taller."

He shrugged, "You might be right."

He continued looking at her, never really doing so the previous times they had met. She was stunning, in her exotic understated way. She had easy beauty as he liked to call it, she didn't need any makeup to be gorgeous. He also couldn't get over the fact of how petite she was.

"Are you sure you had a baby, what, not even a year ago right?" he questioned.

Aiden scoffed, "Yes, I'm sure. She gave me a time when she was born."

Adam shook his head still looking down at her. His hands were itching to touch her again, his lips burned with the want to kiss her again, but this time on that pouty mouth of hers. He smiled when he saw her blush again, realizing then that he was staring at her.

He tucked his blonde hair behind his ears, "Let's get my luggage so we can get out of here, I hate airports."

They started walking to the luggage carousel.

"That's probably not a good thing that you hate airports in you line of work." she said softly to break up the silence.

Adam's mouth turned into a smile, "It's because of work that I hate airports. I'm in them more than I'm at my house."

"That sucks." she said.

"It's alright; I love my job." he shrugged, "What about the little designer dive in you? I bet you were in airports a lot too."

Aiden sighed, "That was before Lexie. I don't like to leave her and Alex wouldn't let me take her with me, so I gave it up."

Adam grabbed his suitcases off of the rotating rack, "You don't do your fashion stuff anymore?"

She shook her head.

"That sucks, Ajay told me how much you loved it and how good you were at it."

"I love my baby more." she answered.

They were walking to the car, trying to maneuver through the slippery ice. Adam was pulling his suitcases stacked on his rolling one behind him. He walked with confidence, used to the snow and the ice. Aiden was hesitantly tip toeing through the treacherous terrain. Adam kept an eye on her and was thankful he did, because she slipped on a patch of black ice that he had expertly dodged.

His hand shot out like lightning to grasp her upper arm and pull her to him. She screamed in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at her trembling frame.

"I hate ice." she grumbled.

He laughed at her as she pulled away from him and slipped again. She latched onto him again for support, which made him laugh even harder.

"Shut up." she muttered, not letting go of him this time.

He pried her off of him and looked down at her, "Hold my hand; I'll get you to the car."

"No more falls?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully.

He held out his free hand to her, his heart beating wildly in his chest, "No more falls, I'm part penguin."

"Or polar bear." she teased, looking at his tousled mane.

He smirked as she placed her hand into his.

Her hand felt so fragile and dainty in his as they continued to her car. He took smaller steps so that she could keep up with him. Finally they made it to the car. He loaded his luggage into the trunk and took Aiden's keys from her that she had outstretched to him. He went around to the passenger side without thinking and opened her door for her. She smiled at him gratefully as she got into the car. Adam made a face as he closed the door for her trying to remember the last time he opened and shut a car door for anyone. He got behind the seat and moved the seat back.

"You should have just sat in the back seat to drive." Aiden smirked.

"Ha, ha." he mocked as he turned the key in the ignition.

'All Eyez On Me" by Tupac came through the speakers.

Adam laughed and shook his head, "You're so gangster."

Aiden shrugged, "I tried to tell everybody."

"So why didn't Ajay and Chris and the kids come to pick me up?" he asked, keeping both hands on the steering wheel to prevent himself from taking her hand in his again.

"The kids were being a little wild this morning because they knew you and Jay were going to be coming today." she answered, adjusting the heat.

"Go figure. How are you and Alex doing?" he wondered.

Aiden sighed, "Not my favorite subject to talk about right now."

"What did he do now?" Adam groaned.

"He cheated on me, which I was willing to overlook for the sake of our daughter, but he wouldn't even acknowledge her and I've been gone for almost two days and he hasn't called once to check on her. That pretty much sealed the deal from me. I just don't know if he'll every fully grow up and take responsibility for his family, you know?" she said sadly.

Adam watched her carefully, regretting the decision to bring Alex up at all. The song ended and a Three Six Mafia song came on.

Aiden turned up the volume, "I love this song."

He smirked at her as she started rapping along with the song. She was so unique and intriguing. She seemed to be dealing with Alex's dumb ass rather well, and it wasn't entirely bad news to Adam that they weren't together. They pulled up to the house and into the garage.

"Thanks for picking me up." he said.

"No problem. Thanks for rescuing me with your polar bear quickness." she joked.

"Wow, you must really want some more Cookie Monster kisses huh?" he asked, getting out of her car.

She shook her head, "No, I don't, thank you very much."

He nodded, "I think you do."

She screamed as he lunged for her. She ran around to the other side of the car. He feigned one way, making her squeal and go the other.

"Adam, stop! I don't like to be chased!" Aiden whined.

"Too bad." he laughed, running around the car.

She screamed again and bolted into the house.

"Ajay!" Aiden yelled as she ran into the living room. Adam caught up with her and tackled her to the couch and began tickling her and cookie monster kissing her too. Aiden was screaming and desperately trying to fight off Adam. Chris and Ajay stood laughing at them from the kitchen. He finally let her go and sat up on his knees realizing how provocative their position was. He was straddling her with her arms pinned down and her clothes all awry. He bit his lip, his eyes full of passion as he slowly got off of her. He could feel his sister glaring at him and knew he needed to act normal quickly.

"I don't want to have this conversation again. Do we understand missy?" he said, faking seriousness.

She saluted him sarcastically and went to Lexie, who was whining for her. She kissed her chubby cheek and smiled as Adam was tackled by Joey, Kenzie and Ajay.

She went upstairs quietly to put Lexie down for her nap. After her baby was asleep, she amused herself by signing onto her lap top and looking at all of the latest runway shows. After an hour or so, someone knocked on her door. She opened it to see Jay standing on the other side.

"Hey." she greeted, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Hey yourself." he replied.

"I didn't know you were here yet." she said.

"Ajay and Joey came to pick me up; I've been here for awhile."

Aiden smiled, "I know Joey and Kenzie were so excited to have their uncles in town."

"Yeah, they are acting like psycho monkeys, but then again they are my sister's children so…" he laughed.

"True." she agreed.

His brow furrowed suddenly, "So, um, we were wondering why you were up in your room? Is everything okay?"

Aiden blushed a little as she dropped her eyes, "I didn't want to be in the way. You haven't all been together in a while and I didn't want to intrude. I already feel bad enough crashing here as it is."

Jay watched her with an almost angry look on his face.

"What?" Aiden asked, after several moments of silence.

"I cannot believe you just said that. I can't believe those words even came out of your mouth right now." he said, "Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, you have been adopted into the crazy Reso-Copeland family and only because I like you so much and don't want to wake up your daughter, who I haven't seen yet by the way, I'm not going to tell my sister what you just said."

Aiden chewed on her lip nervously. He smiled his adorable half smile and winked at her, "Come downstairs when she wakes up or I'll send Ajay and Adam, the queen and king of psycho up here."

She nodded, closing her door back as he went downstairs.

Another hour passed before Lexie woke up. The little girl always woke up with a smile, which always put one on Aiden's face as well.

"Mommy's so glad you're a happy baby you know that?" she said, changing her diaper and fixing her adorable pink dress, "Are you going to be my sweet girl and wear your cute headband?"

Lexie giggled and played with her frilly dress as Aiden put it on her head.

"Can you say Ver-Sa-Ce?" she smiled.

Her daughter's dark auburn eyes stared up at her shining in the light. They always reminded her of Alex. She sighed and pushed away all thoughts of her MIA husband. She cradled Lexie to her chest as they went downstairs.

"Cookie! Where have you been?" Ajay shouted as soon as Aiden turned the corner.

She felt Lexie startle and tighten her chubby little grip on Aiden's shirt. Lexie sniffed in tiny gasps of air as two big crocodile tears fell down her face. A chorus of aww's circled the room.

Ajay went to Lexie and kissed her cheeks, "Auntie Ajay didn't mean to scare you, Lexie Lou. You are far too pitiful when you cry little baby. 'she cooed.

Jay came to the other side of Ajay with his lip poked out at the little girl, "She's adorable."

Aiden smiled proudly, "Thank you."

Jay held out his hands to Lexie, whose eyes were still filled with tears. She looked up at Aiden hesitantly before looking back at him. She let him take Lexie from her, waiting for her to start crying like she always did when she went to someone she didn't recognize. Her little body was taking short little breaths as the tears spilled slowly down her cheeks and her lip trembled.

"You're okay." Aiden assured her.

She hated it when Lexie looked at her like that. That one look would make Aiden move heaven and earth to make it go away.

Jay gently wiped Lexie's tears away, "Come on, let's go see what those crazies are doing in here."

Ajay nodded her head at her brother, "You still got it Jay. She always cries when she goes to somebody new."

He grinned at Lexie, "Say uncle Jay's not the scary, hairy one is he? He's the only sane one other than your mommy isn't he?"

"Assclown." Ajay muttered as he went into the living room with the kids and Adam.

"That was a first." Aiden sighed, sitting at the kitchen bar.

"I was waiting for the patented Lexie blow up." Chris grinned, "Want a beer?"

She hesitated, "Oh what the hell."

Chris cracked on open for her and sat it in front of her.

"Another first, Cookie drinking after giving birth to Lexie." Ajay teased.

Aiden shrugged, "It has been awhile."

The doorbell rang.

"Must be the pizza." Ajay said, dashing to the front door.

Her jaw dropped to the floor when she saw a disheveled looking Alex on the doorstep, "What do you want?"


	4. Daddy Issues

_**Thanks again to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and TJ Sparkles for reviewing! TJ silly girl! You should have a complex because you're so awesome :) xoxo**_

* * *

"You know why I'm here." he said.

"Do I look like a damn mind reader to you, Alex?" she snapped.

"I want to talk to Aiden and see my daughter." he told her.

"Why now? You haven't called Aiden to check on her." she stated.

"I know. I want to apologize to her, please, Ajay. Let me come in and see my wife and daughter." he pleaded.

The pizza delivery guy came up behind Alex. Ajay paid him and stood in the doorway holding the pizzas, looking at Alex.

"Fine, come in." she growled.

He stepped in and followed her to the kitchen. Aiden gasped and Chris' face dead panned when they saw him.

"Hey." Alex smiled hesitantly at Aiden.

He went to her and kissed her temple, "I missed you. Where's Lexie at?"

Aiden was visibly tense as she pulled away from him, "You didn't call. You never checked on her at all."

"I'm sorry. " he said quietly.

Aiden bit her lip to stifle her tears that were stinging her eyes, "That's not good enough."

Adam walked back into the kitchen with Lexie in his arms, who had two handfuls of his hair.

"Your kid is going to make me bald, Aiden." he laughed, making faces at the baby.

"There's my baby girl." Alex said, taking Lexie from Adam.

He looked at Aiden, who had tears in her eyes while she kept a watchful eye on her daughter.

"Daddy missed you." Alex cooed, kissing her cheeks and bouncing her, "I'm going to go change her diaper really quick, okay?"

Aiden nodded slowly. As soon as Alex left the room, Aiden's breath rushed out of her and she bent over.

Ajay went to her, pulling her to stand up, "It's okay Cookie, it's okay. Calm down and take deep breaths before you pass out. Don't let him get to you, don't let him see you like this."

Aiden was shaking so hard that she was making Ajay unsteady.

"I didn't even know he was coming over. He just shows up and jumps back into her life like nothing's wrong, it makes me sick. How can he do that, Ajay? How can her just leave her and not contact her for days and then come in like there's nothing wrong?" Aiden whispered as furious tears fell.

"Cookie, you've got to calm down, it's not good for you to get so upset, remember?"

Ajay reminded, watching her like a hawk.

"I've got to get some air or something. I feel like I can't breathe." she choked out.

"Come on, we'll go outside." Adam urged, pulling Aiden with him.

She stepped onto the back porch, crossing her arms and staring into space as she tried to stop herself from crying. Adam stood close by, unsure of what to do. He didn't know what to do with himself. He had never cared before if he saw a woman cry, other than his sister of course. Watching Aiden take shaky breaths flipped a switch in him though.

"I'll go and get her if you want me to." he offered, thinking of what he could do to make this right and to get her to stop crying.

"No, Adam, thank you. I don't want to involve you, but it was sweet of you to offer." she said quietly.

He tucked his hair behind his ears, "Hush…did you want to talk about it?"

"She's my little girl, she's the most precious thing in my world, and I have a lot of nice stuff by the way. I love her more than my great grandmother's five carat diamond ring from Tiffany's okay? I want what's best for her, I want the best of everything for her and I feel like I failed her by allowing Alex to be a half ass father." Aiden admitted.

"That sweet girl is lucky to have you as a mother. You are so attentive and caring and loving, she's got plenty of people who love her enough to make up for that loser. He doesn't deserve either one of you." he responded, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She nodded sadly, "Thanks for listening, I know this isn't really your thing."

He smirked, "You're my sister's hot best friend, I don't mind the sacrifice."

She pushed him playfully, slipping on ice as she did so.. He caught her again laughing loudly at her.

Ajay came out, "What's going on? Cookie, are you okay?"

"She can't walk on ice at all! It's the funniest thing I've ever seen." Adam laughed, holding Aiden in his arms still.

"The only ice I deal with is in my sweet tea." Aiden defended.

"Come back inside and get some pizza before it's all gone. "Ajay smiled.

Adam carried Aiden to the door, never faltering once. He put her down and bent to whisper in her ear, "I'm here if you need anything."

She nodded and went back into the kitchen. Everybody was gathered around the table, including Alex, with Lexie in his lap. She grabbed a slice of pizza and sat across from Alex. She picked at her food, watching the interactions of her husband and daughter. He was acting like he'd never left and it was irritating the shit out of her. Lexie played obliviously in her father's arms, looking around and smiling at anybody.

"She is seriously the sweetest baby I've ever seen." Jay smiled at Lexie.

"Thank you." Alex and Aiden said at the same time. They both glanced at each other before averting their eyes. Aiden had barely touched her food as she began clearing everybody's plates for them. She was upset again and was trying not to think about it. She was vigorously washing the dishes even though Ajay and Chris had a perfectly good dishwasher. Joey and Kenzie were going upstairs to get ready for bed with their parents, leaving Alex, Jay, and Adam at the table.

Alex got up from the table and went to Aiden leaning close so that only she could hear him, "Can we go upstairs and talk?"

Aiden turned off the water and dried her hands. They went upstairs without a word, Alex still holding Lexie in his arms.

Aiden shut the door to her room and sat on the bed.

"Can I hold her, Alex?" she asked quietly.

Her stomach was aching because she felt uncomfortable with him holding her.

"Just a minute, I haven't seen her in awhile." he said, holding Lexie's small hands in his.

Tears sprung to her eyes.

"Don't do that Aiden, my God, she's right here. I'm her father, I can hold her too." he groaned.

"You chose not to see her. You chose not to call me and check on her." she fired back.

Alex rolled his eyes, "Are we still talking about Lexie or are we talking about you now? Are you trying to punish me because I haven't called you?'

"No!" she whispered, outraged at his accusation.

"She is my priority. It matters to me what happens to her. It matters to me that she hasn't seen her father in two days because he's being an asshole and not checking on her, or coming by to see her."

"I didn't know where you were." he said calmly.

"My phone didn't ring not once from you, Alex." she spat.

"Neither did mine. If you cared so much about her not seeing me, then why didn't you call me and tell me where you were?" he asked, cocking his eyebrows up at her.

Aiden locked her jaw to keep form screaming, "I was not going to call you after the way you treated us. You acted like you didn't even want to be around us, that going out and partying was more important than being with your wife and daughter."

"Don't make this about you, okay? I knew you were going to fucking do this." he said disgustedly.

"Alex, say goodnight to Lexie, I want you to leave." she ordered.

"No. Why don't you pack your shit and come home. You're still my wife, and I think we need to talk about this at home. Lexie needs to be in her room. You're fucking her up by having her over here and away from me. She doesn't understand why Mommy's being a bitch and keeping her away from Daddy." he growled.

Aiden got off the bed and went to him, "Give me my baby and get the hell out of here."

Alex didn't move an inch, "If you touch either one of us, I'll put you through that fucking wall."

Aiden froze. He had never spoken to her that way before. He had never threatened her in any way shape or form. She was scared and frantic. She had to get her and Lexie away from him.

"Alex, don't do this. What is wrong with you? This isn't like you at all." she pleaded.

"Shut up Aiden, just shut the fuck up." he hissed.

Meanwhile downstairs, Jay and Adam were still sitting at the kitchen table mostly in silence. The only sound being made was that of Adam's knee bouncing.

"How do you think it's going up there?" Jay asked quietly.

Adam was staring blankly at the table, flexing his jaw and straining his ears, "I don't know but I got a bad feeling the second that motherfucker got here. He didn't look right, Jay, I'm telling you." Adam murmured.

Jay nodded pensively, "it is weird that we haven't heard anything? I figured they would be yelling now, but then again Aiden doesn't really yell though."

He looked over at Adam and saw how tense he was, "You okay?"

He was still staring at nothing, "I don't like it, something isn't right, Jay, and I'm about to go kick the fucking door in to find out what's going on."

Jay narrowed his eyes, "Maybe it's nothing, maybe they're making up or something."

Adam stared at him then, "I'm telling you it's something. He wasn't acting right, Jay. She can't defend herself much less Lexie at the same time."

Jay put up his hands, "Whoa, Alex is an ass but he's not stupid. He wouldn't put his hands on her with his daughter in the room too. Come on Adam."

Adam pushed away from the table furiously, "I can't stand it. Something's wrong Jay."

He went to go to the stairs to go find out what was wrong but Jay stopped him.

"Wait, wait, you can't just go charging up there, you'll freak out everybody. Let me go check and if anything is up I'll call you." he said.

Adam nodded, putting his hands on his hips, waiting impatiently.

UPSTAIRS

Aiden narrowed her eyes at her husband, his pupils were dilated and he was sweating and trembling slightly.

"Alex, what's wrong with you?" she asked.

"Nothing." he said in a low voice.

"Did you take something? Are you on something?" she whispered.

He didn't answer.

"What did you take? Tell me, Alex." she begged.

She was very scared now. She and her baby could be in very immediate danger if Alex was incoherent and he obviously was not acting like himself.

"Aiden, get your shit and let's go, now. We're going home."

She shook her head, "No, tell me what you're on."

"Pack your fucking shit now Aiden, we're leaving." he growled.

"No, give me Lexie and leave Alex. We're not going with you." she stated.

He shook his head, "Go. Pack. Now."

She reached out and put her hands out to Lexie who raised her arms to be picked up. Aiden tried to pull her from Alex but his grip stopped her. Lexie whimpered slightly, wanting to go to her mother.

"Let her go, Alex. Don't play these games with her." she threatened.

Alex stood and put Lexie on the bed. He jarred her enough to scare her and she began crying.

"Get out now!" Aiden ordered, going to pick her baby up.

Alex caught her by the throat and shoved her into the wall.

"I told you not to touch her." he said, his grip tightening.

Jay had saw the whole thing and called for Adam. As soon as he heard his name he raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He was right behind Jay who had scooped up Lexie to quiet her down. Adam came behind Alex and put him in a choke hold and flung him to the bed. Aiden slid down the wall, coughing.

Adam grabbed her arms and stood her back up, "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly, unsure of her answer.

"Jay." Adam barked, "Keep her here."

He went to Alex who had just recovered and shoved him into the wall by his shirt and got in his face, "You want to push people around, huh? We're going to walk outside, just you and me, and if you wake up my niece or nephew I'll throw you down the motherfucking stairs."

Alex didn't look the least bit intimidated, "Bring it, Adam." he grinned maniacally.

Alex walked past Aiden, glaring at her, only to earn a shove from Adam.

"Oh shit, that's not going to be good." Jay muttered.

Aiden's tearful eyes shot to him, "They aren't really going to fight are they?"

Jay laughed, "Adam is not going to let it fly that Alex put his hands on you. He's going to kick his ass."

Aiden shook her head, "No, he can't."

"Adam can handle himself honey, you don't have to worry about it." Jay assured, rubbing Lexie's back.

"I just want Alex to leave, I don't want anyone to fight." she said.

Jay shrugged, "He's not going to let it go. Just stay here."

"I can't. I've got to stop them." she said, rushing downstairs.

"Aiden, come back!" Jay called, "Shit, shit, shit!"

Lexie whimpered again at his loud voice.

"Shhh…it's okay sweetheart." he soothed.

He went down the hall, thankful that Ajay and Chris came out of Kenzie's room.

"Where's Cookie?" Ajay asked.

"It's bad, Alex has lost it and Adam took him outside to beat his ass and Aiden just ran down there to stop them." He relayed."What the hell happened?" Chris asked as they all three went down stairs.

"Alex's crazy or something, but he pushed Aiden into the wall and was choking her when Adam and I went in. They were fighting over Lexie." he told them.

"I hope Adam kills him." Ajay muttered.

IN THE YARD

Aiden rushed out as Alex and Adam were squaring off. They were talking shit back and forth as they circled one another. Neither was backing down, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Adam stopped circling when he saw Aiden running towards them. She ran to him, colliding into his chest.

"Please, please Adam don't do this." she cried.

He never took his eyes off of Alex who was coiled and ready to strike.

"Aiden, go back inside. I don't want you to get hurt." he said.

"Yeah babe, go inside, you really don't need to see me beat him up." Alex warned.

Adam laughed darkly, "In your wildest dreams Shelley. I'm going to clean house with you. You'll regret ever putting your hands on her."

Aiden held her hand out to Adam and took several steps to Alex, "Please, Alex, just go home, please don't fight, please."

"You need to mind your fucking business, Adam. This was between me and her." he glared past her.

"What happens in my sister's house is my business. What happens to my sister's best friend and goddaughter is my business. You fucked up and now you're gonna pay." he yelled, pointing his finger at Alex.

"Come on then, quit bullshitting and show me what you were all big and bad inside, fuck face." Alex taunted, feinting forward.

Adam's arm circled Aiden's waist, hauling her backwards away from Alex, who was laughing loudly.

Adam framed Aiden's face, "Please go back inside…if anything happened to you…"

Aiden shook her head stubbornly, "Come with me. Come back inside with me, Adam, just leave him out here, you don't have to fight him, please…"

"He choked you, I'm not letting him get away with that." Adam growled loudly, glaring back at Alex over Aiden's head.

"I'm fine. It doesn't matter, that's what he wants you to do, please." she cried.

Suddenly, Alex lunged forward at the pair. Adam shifted his weight, moving them both out of the way just in time before Alex connected with either of them.

"That's it!" he bellowed, trying to pry Aiden off of him.

Ajay came running from the house with Chris. Ajay stepped in front of Adam, helping Aiden pull him back to the house, "Adam let's go inside now. Let him be a dickhead, don't join him."

Chris was with Alex escorting him to the car, so he could drive him home.

Jay went to Aiden and handed Lexie to her, "Take her inside. Let us handle this okay?"

Aiden was crying so hard she could barely see as she took her almost asleep child from Jay.

She sat in the living room rocking Lexie to sleep and trying to gather herself. She was softly hiccupping when the three siblings came into the house.

"I'm going to go pick Chris up, I'll be back." Ajay announced.

Adam stood in the doorway of the living room looking completely furious. He was breathing heavily as he waited.

"Aiden honey, come upstairs with me, okay?" Jay said softly, keeping a close eye on Adam.

Aiden didn't move. She was frozen as she looked at Adam. She had never seen such anger, such fury in a man before.

"Aiden." Jay said sharply, starting her to attention.

She got up, holding onto Lexie protectively. She followed Jay upstairs and into her room.

"What was wrong?" Aiden whispered.

Jay pinched the bridge of his nose, "He needed to calm down some. He was still in fight mode, he just needed to be alone, that's all." he said, handing her a diaper and baby wipes.

Aiden took off Lexie's dress and changer her diaper and redressed her in her onesie pajamas. Aiden kissed her daughter gently, placing her in her crib. Jay squeezed Aiden's hand tightly, "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself."

Aiden laughed sourly, "Even dogs do that Jay."

"Not with your tenacity, though." he smiled, "I'm really sorry about how everything went down tonight."

Aiden turned to him, her eyes shining with tears, "Thank you for being there for me. I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for you and your family."

Jay pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back softly.

Adam appeared in the doorway, "Do you mind taking me to the hotel? I'm kind of beat."

"I promised Joey I would spend the night." Jay said.

Adam looked at Aiden, "My stuff is in your car anyway."

She looked back at Lexie.

"I'll watch her for you." Jay offered, "How much trouble can a sleeping baby be?"

Adam gave a half smile, "She's not any trouble awake."

Aiden frowned, "Are you sure? Why don't you just take my car and take him and I'll stay with Lexie."

"Because you could use some fresh air and to get out of the house for awhile." Jay said.

Aiden sighed, "Okay, but you'll call me if she wakes up or something right?"

Jay nodded with a smile, "She'll be fine."

ALEX'S HOUSE

Chris had pulled up to Alex's house and walked his friend inside after a silent car ride over there.

"I'm sorry about tonight man." Alex said lowly.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Were you high or something?" Chris shouted, losing his temper.

Alex didn't move.

"Jesus, Alex, what were you on?" Chris groaned.

"I just did a few lines. I was depressed about Aiden and Lexie being gone." He finally admitted.

Chris was silent, too furious to speak.

"Don't start this shit again. You're married with two kids, you need to fucking grow up already man." he finally said.

Alex didn't say anything.

"Fine, it's your life. I can't tell you what to do, but if you've made your choice, so have I. As long as you choose to surround yourself with all of this shit and fall back into your destructive pattern, you are not allowed back over at my house. I don't want my children around any of that, and as soon as Ajay gets here I know she'll back me up." Chris decreed.

"What about Aiden and Lexie?" Alex gaped.

"As long as they are staying with us you'll have to meet them somewhere else, and I will suggest that she does not go alone. You're out of control and it's ridiculous, it really is." he said just as Ajay arrived and honked the horn outside.

"Your wife and daughter deserve better than this, Alex. You think about that." he told him as he left the house.

Alex was alone again, the only thing keeping him company were his sorrows.

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_**Review...or I keel yew! lol**_


	5. Naughty Aiden

_**Updating fast because it may be a little while before I can again :) Enjoy and let me know how you like it!**_

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**ADAM'S HOTEL**

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Aiden was wheeling his suitcase to his room for him while he carried his two large duffel bags. They hadn't really said much on the drive over, just reminiscing about the night's happenings. He unlocked the door and flipped on the lights as he went inside. He tossed his bags on the floor and adjusted the room temperature. Aiden rolled his suitcase against the wall and bit her lip as she put her hands in her back pockets. She watched him take off his jacket. His shirt came up a little to show off his taut midsection. His arms were screaming against the fabric of his shirt. He tucked his hair behind his ears and looked at Aiden finally. She was just as nervous as he was.

She ran a hand through her hair and scrunched her nose, "Adam, thank you for what you did tonight. I'm sorry you had to get involved in my stupid drama."

"Don't apologize for him. Tonight should have never happened, that's why I was so furious. I don't tolerate a man putting his hands on a woman, especially not one I care about." he admitted.

Aiden blinked slowly, her eyes glistening again, "Thank you."

He sighed and went to her and pulled her against him in a tight hug, "I don't like to see you cry, ya know?"

Aiden sniffed into his chest, "I'm sorry."

His laughter rumbled in her ear, "you apologize too much, too."

She laughed too, "Sorry."

They pulled apart and looked into each other's eyes. He was getting lost in hers much to his surprise. She was so intriguing, so devastatingly beautiful to him he was amazed. How had her beauty escaped him in previous encounters? Adam was something he'd never been before…caught up. He wanted Aiden badly, but she was different than any of the other girls he had ever pursued. She was classy and dignified and docile and polite, shy and demure.

He swallowed nervously leaning down to her. His heart was thudding in his chest; he could smell her peppermint breath and her vanilla lip gloss. He could tell she was nervous, he could see it in her gorgeous eyes.

She turned her head and kissed his cheek before pulling away finally.

"I guess I better go." she smiled shakily.

"Yeah, um, be careful. Did you want me to walk you down?" he asked.

"No, thank you again. Have a good night." she smiled, going to the door.

He closed the door as she walked down the hall. He blew out a long breath, running his hands through his hair. He took his shirt off as he walked to the bed. It had been a long night and he was tired from the adrenaline rush he'd had earlier. He sat on the edge of the bed, unable to get his mind off of Aiden and all of the emotions she had stirred up in him. He had never experienced those emotions before. He'd never been that protective over anyone but his sister. He'd never been that clingy before or that scared of the unknown. It was shocking to him that such a tiny woman could evoke that kind of reaction from him. He smiled thinking of Aiden, another thing he'd never done.

A soft knock on the door made his heart stop. Who the hell could it be? Maybe Aiden had forgotten something. He pulled the door open and sure enough there she was. He could see her shaking as she looked up him up and down. Then before he knew what was happening she stood on her tip toes, her tiny hand coming to grasp the back of his neck to pull him down to her. When their mouths met it was like a million volts were running through him. Her full lips were incredibly soft and sensual.

She pulled away from him to look into his eyes, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have…"

His tongue flicked out to taste her. His hands shot up to pull her face back to his in a breathtaking kiss. One of his hands cupped her jaw while the other pressed into her lower back to keep her flush again him. Her hands were resting on his hips. She was holding onto him for support because the way he was kissing her made her want to pass out. His tongue played and teased hers as he applied the sweetest pressure and suction to her. He hadn't realized it but he had backed her against the wall.

He pulled away from her and looked down at her. She had her eyes closed and her hands were against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. He smirked at her lips that were red and swollen. Finally she opened her eyes and stared up at him. He was undeniably sexy standing there in only his jeans that were resting low on his hips. He was full of intrigue and danger and sex appeal. He was like a magnet pulling her to him.

"Do you want to come back in?" he asked in a low voice.

He held his breath as he waited for her answer. Indecision was written all over her. He thought he had just stuck his foot in his mouth until she nodded shyly. He held out his hand, his pulse racing when she put her hand in his. He walked backwards, his eyes never leaving hers as he pulled her back into his room. He shut the door and locked it, leaning around her to do so.

She pressed her lips to his chest, her lips moving to cover his nipple, her tongue swirling around it. He bit his lip as he watched her. She kissed his sternum again and looked up at him. His arms went around her to cup her butt and lift her to his level. Her legs crossed behind his back as he pressed her against the door. Her hands were on either side of his face as their mouths fused together once more.

She sighed, thinking that she wouldn't mind kissing him forever.

He carried her to the bed and laid her down, her arms on either side of her as he hovered above her. He was becoming comfortable, excited and worried at the same time. As badly as he wanted this to happen, he didn't want either one of them to regret it later. She wasn't just another one of his flings that he could be rid of in the morning. She was Aiden, his sister's best friend, she wasn't going to just disappear and never be heard of again. He didn't want to hurt her by being able to detach himself. Ajay had told him that she wasn't that kind of girl.

He broke away from her and stood up. God she looked completely irresistible laying there staring up at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly.

The uncertainty was evident in her voice. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Aiden, uh, I don't know if this is a good idea." he said.

He felt like he had just been hit in the head with a hammer. Did he really just say that? He read the confusion on her face.

He wet his lips, "It's not you, please don't think that…"

He felt like such a moron as he ran a hand through his hair trying to garner up the courage to tell her what he needed to tell her. When he looked back at her she was smiling wickedly and it caught him off guard. She kicked her boots off and stood up in front of him.

"I'm not as sweet and innocent as you think." she smiled, raising her shirt over her head.

His mouth hung open at the sight of her pink leopard print bra.

"Nobody has to know about tonight." she continued, taking off her jeans to reveal her matching bikini underwear.

He could barely contain himself as he continued to stare at her. She laid back down slowly, looking up at him sensually, "And I very highly doubt that I will regret what you're going to do to me. Did that cover everything you were worried about?"

He nodded his head dumbly

"Then come and get me." she whispered.

His hands went to the fastenings of his jeans, undoing them slowly, "Last chance for you to escape."

She giggled and shook her head. He let his jeans drop to the floor and crawled back on top of her in only his boxer briefs. He was trying to keep his composure as he kissed her neck, but his mind kept screaming 'You're going to sleep with Aiden!' Her hands ran up and down his back, feeling his muscles tighten and ripple. She gasped as she felt his tongue on the sensitive flesh of her breasts. He quickly undid the fastening, letting them spill out of the cups. He pleasured them with his hands and mouth expertly. She arched off the bed, wanting him to touch more of her. Her hands tangled themselves in his soft blonde hair.

She mewed her pleasure to him as he continued working her into a frenzy. She untangled her hands from his hair and shimmied out of her underwear. He smirked into her neck as she tugged at the waistband of his. He allowed her to pull them off. She took a deep breath as he gently nudged her. She had started to shake again in nervous anticipation. She was unsure of what to expect with him. She couldn't change her mind now, she was in too deep, she wanted him too much.

They locked eyes as he slowly pushed into her. She held her breath trying to stay calm. He groaned when his shaft was in her completely. He feared that if he moved even a tiny bit he would lose himself, she felt that good. He was amazed by her tight heat that was gripping him.

"Adam." she sighed softly.

His name coming from her mouth was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. He kissed her lazily, swirling his tongue into her mouth. He felt her slender legs come up to caress and wrap around his hips. Every time she moved he experienced a new kind of pleasure. Finally he lifted off of her and rolled his hips. They both moaned at the same time. He sat up on his knees to look down at her.

"I didn't know it could be like this." he said, beginning to move his hips faster.

Aiden grasped the sheets in ecstasy. She threw her head back and forth, moaning his name as he rode her faster. She was so incredibly good it was blowing his mind. He thrust deeper into her as she arched off the bed and called his name. He was so close, but he had to feel her go, he just had to. He slowed his pace and rested on his elbows. She pulled his mouth to hers. She whimpered in his ear as he kept rolling his hips in and out of her.

He kissed his way to her ear nibbling on it as he whispered, "I want you to come apart for me, baby."

"Yes." she sighed, her nails digging into his back.

She arched into him as she fell into oblivion. She tilted her head back and moaned as he climaxed. Adam watched her go with a smile on his face. He pressed his lips to her throat and began accelerating his pace.

"Aiden." He groaned as he buried himself into herm finding his release.

He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He was gasping in her ear at the intensity of his orgasm. He loved the way her legs were intertwined with his, creating that much more friction between them. He shuddered as he finally finished, unable to move just yet. She kissed his neck and rubbed his back gently as he recovered.

He looked into her eyes, "That was…" he ducked his head and chuckled, "Amazing."

Aiden turned red at his compliment.

He kissed her lips, "By far the best I've ever had."

She was looking at him skeptically as he pulled out and rolled onto his back. Aiden sat up with the sheet around her and reached down to grab her clothes from the floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked, putting a hand on hers to stop her movements.

He saw how red she was.

"There's no way that I'm the best." she said, moving to sort her clothes.

"Oh you were, trust me." he shivered, thinking about their tryst, "I'm kind of shocked though."

Aiden turned to look at him, "Why?"

He shrugged, watching her put on her bra and panties, "I just thought that after a woman had a baby it wasn't…good…like that. I mean you took me by surprise."

Aiden bit her lip and threw the covers off of her to put on the rest of her clothes, but was caught by Adam and hauled back into bed. He rolled back on top of her to prevent her from escaping again.

"Let me go." she demanded, still beet red.

He kissed her mouth again, "It was a compliment."

"Okay, but I've got to go." she smiled.

His lips moved to her neck and down her body slowly and stopped to kiss her panties.

"Adam!" she squealed.

He grinned up at her wickedly, "I love it when you say my name."

She smiled as she rolled her eyes. His fingertips came up to touch a light puckered scar that ran vertically on her stomach. He looked up at her, his eyes full of questions. She had stopped breathing when he touched her there; she was a little self-conscious of the only blemish on her body.

"It's from Lexie." She said quietly, trying to move to cover herself.

He nodded running his fingertips over it pensively.

"I've been wanting to get rid of it." She told him.

"Don't. I like it." He smiled, lowering his head to kiss it."Why do you like it? It's ugly." She said."Because I know how much you love Lexie and that's where she came from. It kinda makes you a little bit more tough, like a battle scar or something." He smirked, knowing Aiden was anything laughed at his logic, "That's exactly what it was."

He looked back up at her, his face questioning again, "Did it hurt?"

Aiden thought back trying to find at least one memory that wasn't fuzzy or incomplete, "I don't really remember."

He kissed the scar a final time before crawling back up beside her. He was propped up on his elbow, looking down at her laying on her back.

"I have a confession to make." He whispered.

"What would that be?" She asked.

"I've had a crush on you for awhile." He laughed.

"Shut up."Aiden grinned.

He laughed too as he kissed her, "I have. It started when you came up with Ajay to go sledding."

"That was like a year and a half ago." She gasped."I had always kind of dated people that were in the business or independents, and it never really worked out too well. Then you came along with your southern charm and made me think about stepping out of my comfort zone." He said as his fingers went to her scar again, "I told Jay how I felt when I saw you again at the hospital when Ajay had Kenzie. I had no idea you were pregnant then until after you had Lexie."

Aiden blushed, "That doesn't make any sense, I've got to go."

He stopped her again, "So it's not possible for me to crush on beautiful, sexy, intriguing, intelligent you?"

"If you say so, now let me up." She said, wiggling in his arms."What are you in such a hurry for? You don't want to stay for a little while longer?" He asked, nudging suggestively against her. He giggled and pressed her mouth to his,

"I can't."

"Sure you can." He said.

"I've got to get home to Lexie; sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night still. Besides, your brother will get suspicious." She told him, finally getting out of his arms.

He laid back on the bed, he'd forgotten about her daughter. She dressed quickly and went to the bathroom to fix her hair. When she came back out, Adam had slid his jeans on and was waiting for her perched on the bed."Sure you gotta go? Jay is really great with kids." He smiled pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sure. I can't leave my baby." Aiden smiled, "And isn't this how it works anyways. We both get what we want and go our separate ways?"

He frowned when she said that. He didn't think of her like that and he didn't want her to think he did.

"Aiden, I would like to do this again." He said, caressing her back.

"Do me again you mean?" She joked.

"I like being with you. You're a lot of fun. You're different, and I know now why Ajay loves hanging out with you."

"I guess we'll have to see how it goes." She said, softly running her fingers through his hair.

He nodded, "This will be our little secret right?"

"Yes, I do NOT want your sister finding out." Aiden stated seriously.

"I'll see you later then." he smiled, grabbing her booty and burying her face in her chest again.

She squealed and pushed out of his arms. He caught her again at the door and gave her a searing kiss.

"Be careful and text me when you get to Ajay's, okay?" he whispered.

"Okay." she said before she left.

He watched her walk to the elevator and waved at her before she stepped on. He went back inside wanting to scream in exhilaration because of what he'd just done. He was not sleepy at all; his mind was too busy replaying his night with Aiden over and over again.

Aiden raced home, kicking herself for being out this late, she'd been gone for two hours. She pulled into the drive in neutral with her headlights off. She went up the stairs, praying Jay was asleep. She let herself in and quietly shut the door. She was tip toeing to the stairs when a light clicked on. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream, then turned around slowly to see Jay standing there with a wicked grin on his face.

"Whatcha doin?" He asked.

"You scared me to death! I'm going upstairs, is Lexie up there?" She asked, trying to make a quick getaway.

He waved the baby monitor in her face, "She's fine. I want to know what you've been doing for the last two hours."

Aiden swallowed, "Adam and I were talking about everything that happened tonight."

Jay smirked, "Try again."

She stared at him, "We were. He was just asking me if I was okay and stuff."

Jay shrugged, "Alright, fine, but you did this to yourself."

She looked confused, "What?"

"Oh nothing, I'm going to go wake Ajay up so she can interrogate you, since you won't tell me the truth." He told Aiden.

Aiden jumped in front of him, blocking his way upstairs, "You know how pissed she is when she gets woken up."

"Aaaaa..." Jay hollered before Aiden clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She hissed walking him back to where he sat on the couch with his eyebrows cocked. Aiden bit her lip and took a deep breath,

"You can't tell a soul; especially your sister or I will have you killed."

He gave her a look like 'yeah right.'

"Adam and I slept together." She reached her hand out to move her hair,

"I already knew. He likes to mark his territory, and you have your shirt on inside out."

Aiden jumped off the couch and went to the mirror on the wall and saw the hickey he'd left on her collarbone."That dumbass." She muttered, going to sit back down.

"So spill it I want details." He smiled.

"Details?" She questioned.

"Yeah, positions, did you go, did he, was it good, are you going to do him again, if not, I'm totally free." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Aiden buried her face in her hands, completely mortified, "Jay!"

He burst into quiet laughter, "I'm just kidding. I'll get him to tell me all about it."

"Don't do that to me." He was still laughing at her when she pushed him backwards. He eyed her suggestively and it was only then that she realized she had inadvertently ended up between his legs.

She shook her head, "You pervert!"

He sat back up slowly, his face turning somber, "Can I tell you something?"

She nodded, feeling his mood shift.

He took her hand in his, "I usually don't do this, but I don't want you to get hurt. You're my sister's best friend, so I feel like I should warn you about Adam."

"What about him?" she asked slowly.

"He's not the forever type, honey. He'll love you one day and be gone the next." he told her.

"I'm not looking for forever, Jay." she said.

"I just don't want you to get caught up with him because he paints a pretty picture and he's a great guy and all, but he sucks at commitment." he divulged.

Aiden kissed his cheek, "Thanks for looking out for me, that's really sweet of you, but like I told him, I'm a big girl and I know what I'm doing."

Jay smirked devilishly, "I like this Aiden, she's all sexy and sneaky and sultry. Its kinda turning me on, I'm not going to lie."

"Shut up." she laughed again as she swatted at him.

Through the baby monitor they heard Lexie whimper and start to fuss.

Aiden looked at Jay, "That's my cue. Thanks for watching her for me."

"No problem, any time. She's a little angel. Don't worry; I'm not going to say anything about you and Adam. I think you'll do him some good."

Aiden snickered, "Oh, I did."

He spanked her playfully, "I definitely like naughty Aiden."

Jay pulled out the couch to go to sleep and listened to Aiden enter her room.

"Hey sweet girl, Mommy missed you." she cooed through the monitor.

He smiled to himself before turning it off.

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_**Tell me what you think and maybe i'll update sooner rather than later! xoxo**_


	6. Being Sneaky

The next day Jay and Ajay and Joey went to get Adam early in the morning. Aiden came downstairs in skinny jeans and black halter with a jeweled neckline. Lexie was dressed in her typical baby dress that made her even cuter. She willed herself to act normal when she saw Adam, but he was not making it easy for her. The way his grey t-shirt stretched across his chest and arms made her stomach fill with butterflies. He did a double take when he saw her with Lexie on her hip. She was so tiny.

Jay elbowed him sharply to inform him he was staring. He cleared his throat and glanced over at Jay and nodded. He must have waited up on Aiden and gotten it out of her.

"Cookie, you know you're just too cute sometimes. It's just us you can wear t-shirts and sweatpants sometimes." Ajay said teasing her.

"I don't own any Ajay. I dress like this all the time." Aiden said sitting down on the couch.

"I'm going to buy some and make you wear them." she said.

"Leave her alone baby, you know that's how she is." Chris defended turning on a Disney movie for the kids to watch.

Lexie leaned back in Aiden's lap and kicked her feet out playfully.

Ajay, Chris and Jay went into the kitchen to fix breakfast.

Adam seized the opportunity and leaned down on the head rest behind Aiden.

He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.

"I think you look beautiful today."

"Thank you." she whispered back.

He kissed her neck again sending cold chills racing up and down her back before he sauntered into the kitchen.

Aiden glanced over at Joey and Kenzie to make sure they were still engrossed in the movie. She sighed a breath of relief that they were.

After breakfast everyone sat around and talked or played with the kids. Aiden put Lexie down for a nap in the afternoon and was just leaving her room when Adam met her at the door. Without hesitation he bent and captured her lips passionately. Aiden struggled only because she was worried about someone seeing them.

He pulled away trailing kisses to her ear, "I've wanted to do that all day."

His teeth captured her ear lobe as his hands held her hips against his.

"Adam, you've got to stop, what if someone sees us?" Aiden gasped.

"As bad as I want you right now, I really don't' care." he admitted.

He covered her mouth with his before she could protest. Her fingers numbly clutched his shirt as he continued kissing her.

"When are you going to come see me again?" he asked breathlessly.

Aiden laughed nervously looking down the hall. He pulled her chin back to look at him.

"I don't know. We'll just have to see how it goes." she answered.

He stared at her for several seconds before blowing out a breath, "I'll work something out for tonight."

"I've got Lexie, Adam, maybe we should wait." he protested.

He smirked, "Don't worry, I'm good at this."

He kissed her again before going downstairs with her.

"I wish Kenzie would go down that easy for her nap." Chris groaned listening to Ajay still trying to get her to go to sleep.

Aiden shrugged, "I did luck out with her being so good."

Adam watched Aiden from across the room. She was his new vice. He couldn't help but stare at her or touch her or kiss her. He was having a hard time not blowing their cover. "You're staring again bro." Jay whispered. Adam continued looking at Aiden, "You gotta do me a favor Jay.""I don't '_gotta_' do anything." He glared at him, "You owe me, besides its really simple, just get Chris and Ajay out of the house for a little while for me. Go see a movie or something."Jay cocked an eyebrow at him, "I know what you're up to...you want to have the house to yourself to hook up with Aiden."Adam looked around to see if anyone had heard him, "Keep your fucking voice down! That's not why, I mean why would you even think that?""Cut the shit Adam, I caught her sneaking in last night and got it out of her." Jay gritted his teeth, "Fine yes, I would like to spend some time alone with her."Jay grinned his cheeky little grin, "Okay, let's say I help you out, what's in it for me?""Are you serious?" He asked narrowing his crossed his arms and gave a little nod, his all knowing smirk widening, "How much is a night with Aiden worth to you?"Adam glanced over his shoulder at her. She and Chris were playing a video game and she looked completely adorable concentrating on the screen while her hands worked feverishly on the control. He recalled the feel of her lips, the taste of her skin, the flow of her dainty little body. He realized then that he would sacrifice a good many things to claim her again."Name your price, but don't be an asshole about it." Adam growled turning back to Jay."I want front row hockey tickets to a play off game and first class plane tickets for work for two weeks." He said, naming his price."You gotta be fucking kidding me." Adam said."Ajay is a pain in the ass to get away from Joey and Kenzie and I've got to deal with her worrying the whole time all the while you sleep with her hot best friend. Go cry me a river, you can't either take it or leave it." Jay turned back to look at her again. She and Chris were teasing each other about who beat the level. She must have felt him staring at her because she looked over at him demurely and blushed before looking away."You got a deal." He gave in looking back at Jay."I knew that already." Jay smiled."You're an arrogant little bastard." Adam said sourly already computing in his head how he was going to work out Jay's demands."CLB all the way baby." He smiled to himself despite his frustration with Jay because he would have Aiden all to himself again.

Later that night after much debate and discussion between Jay, Chris, and Ajay the two men had finally talked her into leaving her children with Adam and Aiden to go to Dinner and a movie. She stood on the doorstep and gave Joey and Kenzie kisses."Ugghh...I just can't leave them." Ajay groaned."Aiden is going to be here, she's more than capable of putting them to bed in a little while." Chris coaxed"I'm not worried about Aiden...I'm worried about Adam." She corrected him."C'mon I took care of you when you were little." He glared at him, "Right and how many times did I have to go to the hospital because of that?"He shrugged, "A couple of times.""Come on so we won't be late." Jay fixed her intense glare on Adam, "If anything happens to my babies, my Lexie Lou, or my Cookie I will run you over with my car."He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, _leave_ already.""I'm not joking." She threatened again."Say bye mommy, stop being a weirdo." He said taking Kenzie's arm and waving it at Ajay. She shook her head while Chris drug her out to the car."You two kids play nice." Jay winked closing the door behind turned back to Aiden with a proud smirk on his face, "I told you I was good at this."He bent and kissed her."I've got to get them ready for bed." She smiled apologetically as she went to the living room where Joey and Lexie were groaned and looked at his niece, "You are SO blocking on Uncle Stinky right now."She tugged on his hair obliviously. Aiden went upstairs with Lexie, Kenzie, and Joey and got them ready for bed. She put Lexie and Kenzie down first and then read Joey some stories until he fell asleep too.

Adam watched, leaning against the door frame. Something deep within him stirred as she watched her kiss Joey's head and tuck him in. The little boy stirred awake again and whined and reached out for her. She sat back down on the edge of his bed and softly began to hum and rub his back. He didn't know the song she was humming but it was the sweetest melody he'd ever heard. Her voice was soft and sweet and for some reason reminded him of springtime. Some kind of odd sensation was building in his chest as he continued to watch her.

He knew she didn't know that Joey was his son, but it just added to her endearing qualities that she was so caring and loving toward him. He had only ever seen Joey reach out to Ajay like that before. Joey had had a really awful childhood and to see him so at ease and trusting with Aiden spoke volumes of her character. She had stopped humming and had stood up and tucked his covers around him and turned on his night light. He moved back into the hallway as she quietly closed the door."Do you mind listening out for them while I hop into the shower?" She askedHe shook his head, still semi lost in thought. She walked down the hall and disappeared into her room and then reappeared to go to the guest bathroom. Adam stood transfixed by her until he heard the shower turn on. He smirked deviously and set about his plan.

Aiden stood under the hot spray letting the water soothe her. She washed her hair and was just rinsing it out, her head under the water when she felt a hand cover her mouth. Her eyes shot open as she struggled.

"It's just me." Adam whispered in her ear, taking his hand off of her mouth.

She slapped him on his chest, "You're supposed to be listening out for the kids!"

He covered his chest where she had hit him in shock, "I've got it covered."

He pulled back the shower curtain to show three baby monitors hooked up on the shelf.

"See?" he grinned.

"Clever, but that doesn't mean I want to share my shower with you." she said coyly.

"You don't want me?" he asked genuinely surprised.

She shrugged flippantly and resumed rinsing her hair out.

"I think you do sweetheart." he said bending to whisper in her ear again.

She shook her head as he nipped her neck eagerly.

"No more marks!" she chastised.

"How about no more visible marks?" he asked as his hands slipped to her thighs to pull her back against him.

His teeth grazed down her shoulder as one hand moved up to cup her breast and the other went to her apex. She closed her eyes and let her hand fall back on his shoulder when she felt his deft fingers begin to manipulate her. His lips traced her jaw line, his tongue lapping out to caress the corner of her mouth.

Her small moan made him smile, "You still don't want me baby?"

Her response was to reach behind her and slowly stroke him. He hissed in her ear, his fingers working in her faster and faster until finally she gave in.

"Take me Adam." she breathed.

He dipped his head under the spray to smoothes his hair back as he did a one eighty in the stall. In one fluid movement, he cupped her butt and lifted her against the wall and delved into her tight heat. He covered her mouth again just in time to suppress her cry of pleasure. He removed his hand and fused their mouths together as he slowly began to ride her. They swallowed each others moans as she crossed her ankles behind his back. Her head lolled back as he dipped his head to capture her nipple in his mouth. Her small hands squeezed the muscles in his back and shoulders as they contracted with his efforts.

"Adam…" she moaned.

He felt her climaxing already but he was no where near done with her yet. He continued his thrusts into her feeling her spasm around him. He stepped out of the shower with her still in his arms and sat her on the counter and continued pumping into her. She cried out again as his pace quickened. He was dripping moisture onto her as he captured her mouth again. She leaned back against the foggy mirror feeling like she was going to lose control again at any moment. He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her to him as he let out a low groan.

"Hmm…Aiden…damn!" he sighed as he came into her.

She had her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as she shuddered around her second orgasm as well. He sat her back on the counter, both of them breathing heavily. Her fingers went into her wet scalp and pulled his mouth to hers again.

"I lied. I did want you." she smiled.

He laughed as they both got back into the shower to bask in the afterglow of their rendezvous. They emerged later and wrapped themselves in towels continuing to peck each others lips. He looked at his phone as Aiden was putting lotion on.

"Oh shit! Ajay would only go to dinner, they're on their way back now!" he said.

Aiden's eyes bugged out, "What are we going to do? She's going to find out and she's going to be so mad because we were supposed to be watching the kids and definitely not fooling around in the shower."

He covered her mouth with his again, her protests dying with the gentle caress of his tongue.

"Go get dressed I'll handle this." he promised.

She scurried down the hall. He took a deep breath smiling after her before rushing into action.

They met up in the living room after they had gotten changed and he had cleaned everything up in the bathroom. He sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Aiden stood next to the couch analyzing every detail of the house to make sure there was no evidence of them being together.

"Adam your hair is still wet." She had pulled it back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, a few shorter hairs falling loose around his face. He shrugged, "She's not going to notice. She's going to come running into the house and go straight upstairs to make sure Joey and Kenzie still have all their little fingers and toes."Aiden started pacing, "I don't know...its too risky."He didn't know why he turned on the TV, it wasn't even like it was even as remotely interesting as she was. Her long blonde hair was piled on top of her head and she wore a black and white striped tube top with long black yoga pants. He had to smile, even when she was relaxing and about to go to bed she was still miss diva fashionista. He suddenly wondered what she would look like in the morning walking around his house in nothing but one of his old t-shirts. He laughed lowly at the image finding it surprisingly stopped, "Are you laughing at me?"He took her by the wrist and pulled her to straddle his lap. She put her arms around his neck as his went behind her and up to massage her tense shoulders. He dropped kisses on her neck and cheeks, "I want you to relax and trust me. Ajay is not going to find out you slept with the big bad wolf.""But..." She started but he closed his mouth on hers sighed as one arm dropped to her waist to pull her closer. Her hands went up to cup his strong jaw line as their make out session was getting hotter and the door opened and Jay walked in and frowned, "You two cut it out, Ajay's coming."Adam kissed Aiden quickly before setting her on the cushion beside him. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest when Ajay came in and just as Adam had said she would she went straight upstairs not even bothering to look at them on the couch. Adam cocked his eyebrow at Aiden in an "I-told-you-so" manner. She smirked and swatted his arm. He caught her and brought her hand up to bite her fingers. Aiden squealed and snatched her hand back making him laugh when she turned bright red."Be more obvious." Jay chastised as he sat in Ajay's sat beside Aiden on the couch looking very dejected."I really wanted to watch that movie." He pouted."You'll be alright, I heard it sucked anyways." Jay grinned flipping through the took Aiden's hand discreetly and held it between them. He never took his eyes off the TV and was completely at ease sitting there holding her turned to Aiden, "So how were the kids?"Jay glanced over and saw that she had the deer-in-the-headlights look and smiled. She was so damn cute."Ummm...they were fine. They were good." She stumbled on her couldn't help himself, "Like how good? Were they really really good or were they just kinda good?"Aiden froze as Adam leaned forward and glared at him, knowing what he was insinuating."They were actually fantastic." She broke into a smile and sat back laughing. He squeezed Aiden's hand silently telling her thank smirked at Aiden's coy expression, "Touche little girl, touché."They turned back to the TV leaving Chris very confused, "Anybody want to fill me in?""No." They all three said in unison.

Chris sat back in shock, not even Aiden would tell him? Something was definitely up with that. He looked at Jay, then Aiden, then Adam and spotted the similarity.

"Why are both of your heads wet?" he questioned.

Chris knew Adam wouldn't give away any hints as to why, so he kept his eyes on Aiden and got his answer.

An evil grin spread across his face, "_You _slept with _him?_"

She had all but stopped breathing when he uttered those words.

Adam smirked deviously, "You got a fucking problem with that?"

Aiden turned to look at Adam fearfully. She couldn't handle a fight two nights in a row.

"Don't." she pleaded.

"I just asked him a question." he said still watching the screen.

"I think its right up your ally to have sex with the babysitter, that's all." Chris replied.

"What the hell does that mean? We're both adults. She wanted it as much as I did." he shot back.

"Look I didn't mean anything, I just worry about Aiden. You kinda got a lot going on right now. He said looking at her.

Adam scoffed and turned to look at Aiden too, "Does everybody treat you like a little kid?"

She sat in silence not knowing what to say.

"Will both of you just drop it?" she finally asked.

"Yeah! Leave her alone, oh and I get a kiss if you don't want me to tell Ajay." Jay chimed in.

"What? That wasn't part of our deal." Adam said sitting up.

Jay ignored him and puckered his lips, "You know I'll blab."

Aiden sighed and pushed herself off the couch.

"Make it good." he smiled his eyes twinkling.

She heaved out another breath before pressing her lips to his and lingering for several seconds.

"That's good enough." Adam growled from the couch.

"You better not say one word!" Aiden said glaring down at him.

"So that means I get one too right?" Chris piped up, "So I won't tell Ajay either?"

Aiden turned to him and gave him a look that read 'think about what you just said idiot.'

Chris grimaced when he felt Adam and Jay's stares on him

He grinned sheepishly, "I was only kidding. Jay can have mine."

Adam pulled Aiden to sit back down beside him, "No more kisses tonight an both of you better keep your mouths shut, because I can kick your ass Chris and I got dirt on you Jay."

"I'm going to go check on Lexie and go to bed. I'll uh…see you guys in the morning." Aiden said as she went upstairs.

Jay looked appalled as she went upstairs, "You're not going to tell her good night or anything?"

Adam shook his head, "Its not like that."

He did want to tell her goodnight and leave her with a kiss to remember him by but it was better this way. Less feelings involved, less emotion, only lust, nobody gets hurt, just the way he liked it.

"Just be careful with her, for her and Ajay's sake." Chris cautioned getting up to go upstairs.

"So you ready for me to take you back to the hotel?" Jay asked.

"Might as well." he said, turning to look at the stairs hoping to get another glimpse of Aiden before he left.


	7. Hey Kid

The next day was a bitter sweet one. Jay and Adam were leaving to go back to work. Ajay always hated it when it was that time again.

She hugged both of her brothers tightly, "I'm glad that both of you got to hang out with us for a few days."

They nodded.

"We'll do it again soon. These two are growing like weeds." Jay grinned kissing Kenzie's chubby cheek.

Ajay caught Adam staring into the kitchen at Aiden feeding Lexie.

"She still thinks she's interrupting our family moment." Ajay frowned, "You going to tell her goodbye?"

He blinked looking around, "Yeah, I guess."

He propped his suitcase up and went into the kitchen. Lexie's golden eyes looked up at him as he approached her mother from behind.

He gently put his hands on her shoulders, "We're leaving."

She turned on the stool she was sitting on to look up at him. Her eyes were like pools of honey, their depth amazed him.

She smiled, "You didn't have to say goodbye."

"I'm not." he said.

Her perfectly manicured eyebrow raised in question, "Then what are you doing?"

"Asking you if I can call you tonight." he told her.

"I thought that this was just a weekend deal?" she questioned.

He bent and kissed the top of Lexie's head, "Its whatever we make it."

She broke into a smile then, unable to help herself. His charm was overwhelming sometimes.

"If you find something more interesting to do rather than calling, don't fell bad, I'll understand." she grinned, looking and sounding genuine.

He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek, looking at her trying to memorize her exotic beauty. He turned and walked out the door. Aiden waved to Jay from her seat. She laughed at Lexie who was already trying to feed herself the rest of her bananas. Aiden had never been involved in a one night stand before. She had never engaged in such a forbidden relationship with such a forbidden man. She stayed awake most of the previous night trying to prepare for the inevitable goodbye this morning. She was afraid of the sting of separation, the sadness of feeling used, but as she continued feeding her daughter the only emotion or state of mind she felt was peace. She was relaxed and confidant, her self image soaring over his desire to want to continue their…relationship? Fling? Several night stands?

Ajay came in and broke up her thoughts, "It sucks when they leave."

"I bet so. They're a lot of fun to be around." Aiden said, surprising herself at how easy it was to talk about them…about him.

The phone rang and Ajay picked up the cordless and looked at Aiden, "Its Alex."

Aiden held out her hand and took the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey…it's me." he said quietly.

"I know." she said.

Silence.

"What did you call for? Did you want to speak to Chris or Ajay?" she asked.

"No, no. I wanted to talk to you. I really want to see you and Lexie." he said sullenly.

She hesitated. She wasn't sure of this at all, especially given their most recent encounter.

"I don't know Alex." she sighed.

"Do you want to go to dinner with me? Anywhere you want to go is good, you pick it'll be my treat." he persuaded.

She was trying to decide, trying to make up her mind but the only thing she could focus on was his treatment of her only a few days ago.

"Please Aiden?" he begged.

"Fine, we'll meet you at Tsunami's at seven." She gave in.

"Sushi and my two favorite girls, sounds perfect." he said sounding overly chirpy on the phone.

"Right…see you at seven." she ended dully.

"Ummm…what the hell was that? You're not going to dinner with him Aiden, and with Lexie too? No way, I don't like it." Ajay frowned.

"I'm not going to keep Lexie from him. It's a public place with valet service. There's no reason to worry." Aiden told her wiping Lexie's mouth and fingers clean with a baby wipe.

"Well I'm going with you." she stated crossing her arms.

Aiden looked up taking the tray off of the high chair, "No you're not."

Ajay shrugged, "Then Chris will."

"I'm going alone. Nothing is going to happen." Aiden reiterated.

Ajay gaped, "Like last time? No way, I can't let you go by yourself."

"You can't let me go eat sushi at a really public place with my husband and daughter?" Aiden asked picking Lexie up and kissing her temple.

"He's your estranged husband now." Ajay said shrilly.

Aiden sighed, "Which is why I need to do this. I'm going, end of story."

Ajay shook he head stubbornly.

"I appreciate that you worry and want to protect Lexie and I but in this situation we really will be fine, I promise." Aiden said tiredly.

She was internally dreading having to see Alex, but no one had to know that.

"Fine.' Ajay pouted, "But you better call or text me with updates."

Aiden agreed and too Lexie up to their room.

Seven o'clock rolled around quicker than Aiden had any desire for it to. She walked into the restaurant with Lexie in her arms. Alex stood up as they approached. As soon as Lexie saw him she started squirming and reaching for him. He lifted her over his head making her take short little breaths and laugh. Aiden glanced at the table seeing an empty bottle of sake and two empty beer bottles. Alex sat his daughter comfortably on his forearm and reached out to Aiden to grasp her chin so he could kiss her lips. She pulled away taken aback slightly.

"She's getting so big." Alex admired as she played with his collar.

Aiden stayed silent, her mercurial gaze trained on Lexie.

"Both of you look adorable by the way." he continued with his waited for a response, "Are you going to say anything?"

She blinked and looked into his dark brown eyes, "Thank you."

"I've really missed the two of you at the house. Its been really quiet." he said looking back at their daughter.

"That's not what I heard, quite the opposite in fact." she replied crossing her toned legs and leaning back in her chair.

Alex's eyes snapped back to her face, "Have you been spying on me?"

Aiden scoffed, "Absolutely no. The neighbors called and wanted to know why WE were having so many people over every night."

"Alright, so I threw a party or two…"he admitted.

"Or four." Aiden corrected.

He glared at her, "Four, but its only because I'm lonely."

Aiden rolled her eyes, "I highly doubt that."

His jaw flexed, "Why the fuck are you being so snotty?"

"Watch your language around our daughter please." Aiden said sharply.

"Seriously though what is your problem? I ask you to come out with me to try and smooth things out and you jump all over my shit. What's up with that?" he questioned downing his third beer.

"Language. I mean it. I think I have a right to act however I want. You're the one who didn't want to spend time with his family in the first place." she warned.

"And you wonder why?" he asked sarcastically.

"You still don't get that its not about me do you? I don't care if you spend time with me or not but I do care if you do or don't with her." she responded.

He heaved a deep breath and sat back annoyed with his wife. He hated hat she was always right and always Miss Perfect. He used to love that about her.

"How has she been doing over there?" he finally asked after he had calmed down.

"She's fine. She likes being around Joey and Kenzie, but she does miss you and her stuff." Aiden answered honestly.

"Then why don't you come home?" he wondered picking up a piece of sushi from the plate they were sharing.

"I think you should know the answer to that." she said spooning Lexie some rice onto a little plate.

He sighed, "I'm sorry about what happened last time. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"That was probably the drugs huh?" she smarted off.

Alex dropped his chopsticks, "I'm trying to apologize to you and you just keep acting like a bitch!"

Several patrons turned to look at their table, Alex could feel the heat from their stares. Aiden continued eating and feeding Lexie as if nothing had happened. After several moments of silence between them, he decided to change the subject.

"So what are we going to do for Lexie's first birthday?" he asked.

"I wanted to do like a hearts theme since it is on Valentine's Day. Red and pink colors, mini cupcakes for the guests and a larger whimsical one for the birthday girl. I already sent out the invitations." she smiled at her daughter.

Alex chewed on his lip, his patience was wearing incredibly thin, "So what did you want me to do, send you a check? Do I even get to come? Were you even going to tell me? She's my kid too! You can't continued to keep her from me." he said leaning across the table to intimidate her.

Aiden reached into her purse and held out a white envelope with little pink and red hearts on it. He opened it and read the card, only Aiden would make designer birthday cards for their child's first birthday.

"When was I going to get this?" he snarled.

"I put them in the mail this morning. You're the first person to have one, is that okay with you?" she questioned.

"How was I supposed to know? It's not like you ever call me to let me know about anything." he shot back.

"Likewise, whether you like it or not, its about Lexie and what's best for her." Aiden told him, growing tired of their bickering.

"So mooching off of our friends and keeping her away from her father is what's best for her?" Alex asked cocking an eyebrow at her.

"It is when he's acting like an irresponsible jerk and making very poor potentially life changing decisions." she fired back.

He sat back and laughed, "I'm so sick of you and your better-than-you attitude. You think you're the perfect mom and that you have all the answers when we both know that you don't. You're human just like me, remember that. One day she may hate you for the choices you're making for her, and you can have fun dealing with that because she'll be old enough to know then how big of a fucking bitch you're being."

Tears formed in her eyes as she began to gather her things.

"This was obviously a bad idea." she whispered as she picked Lexie up and shouldered her purse and diaper bag.

"Don't walk away from me. I didn't get to spend hardly any time with her." He said grabbing her arm.

"No, once again you were too busy insulting me instead of being civil and focusing on our daughter. Please, please, please get your act together before the party, for Lexie's sake. Its her first birthday and I want it to be special." she pleaded.

He shrugged, "Stop acting like a bitch and I might consider it."

He leaned in and kissed his daughter's cheek, "Daddy loves you."

Aiden turned sharply on her heel and went out of the restaurant. Alex sat back down with a smirk on his face. Several patrons were shaking their heads disapprovingly at him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." he said loudly as he popped another piece of sushi into his mouth.

Aiden buckled Lexie into her car seat and left the restaurant. She was crying softly as she drove around aimlessly. She didn't want to go back to Ajay's this early, and have to answer all of her questions. She would just drive around until Lexie fell asleep or she stopped crying. She was so mad at herself for having such high hopes about tonight's meeting. She wanted so badly for things to go well. She wanted her husband, the man she fell in love with back. She looked in the rearview, thankful that her daughter had already fallen asleep. She drove around the city trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

She picked up her vibrating cell phone, "Hello?"

"Hey kid, is it safe for us to be talking right now?" Adam asked breezily on the other line.

She faltered, "Oh…umm, yeah its fine. I'm driving around with Lexie."

He heard something in her voice, "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." she said sniffling.

"Why are you crying?" he questioned.

Was she that bad at lying? Apparently so.

"Hold on a sec." he said.

She could hear him leaving a noisy room, as the background buzz faded to nothing.

"Okay, what's up? The truth this time please." he said.

She hesitated again, she really wasn't sure if she should or wanted to discuss Alex with him.

"Aiden?" he prompted.

"I went out to dinner with Alex so he could see Lexie and so we could talk." she confessed.

She heard his frustrated sigh and then silence. She sniffed again, she didn't want him mad at her too. She knew she was gullible and naïve, but she really had hoped for the best for Lexie's sake.

"I-I know it was dumb, I shouldn't have been so stupid and hopeful…" she apologized before he cut her off.

"Stop right there. You're not stupid, he is. Listen, I don't want to waste this phone call on him, it just upsets you. Lets talk about something good, something funny, how's Baby Angel?" eh asked.

Aiden looked in the rearview again and couldn't help but smile, "She's oblivious thank goodness. I'm so glad she's not older and able to figure stuff out."

"Me too. So did Ajay freak out that you went to dinner without her?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course, she almost didn't let me leave the house." Aiden replied, "I know she means well."

Adam laughed, "She's very protective of you that's for sure. Nobody messes with Cookie."

"Except you." she quipped.

"Oh, you got jokes huh?" he teased.

"Just an observation." she said.

He could tell she was still upset though she was trying to hide it from him. He could very easily strangle Alex for being such a dumbass, but then again maybe he should thank the guy. If he wasn't such a jerk, he would have never gotten with Aiden in the first place. Maybe he would send him a fruit basket or something.

"Wish I could be there for you." he commented lowly.

"You've already done so much for me and Lexie, Adam." she sighed.

"I could at least be there to get your mind off of him." he told her.

"And how exactly would you do that?" she questioned.

He smirked, "I would start by kissing that little spot on your neck behind your ear that makes you squirm and that would probably lead to you not wearing any clothes."

"That's usually how it goes with you. You're very persuasive when you want to be." she smiled.

"I get that a lot." he boasted.

"Oh really?" Aiden asked, feigning surprise.

"No, not like that, I mean not since you and me, you know we…" he backtracked trying to make up for his blunder.

She laughed finally, "I'm just joking. You don't owe me any explanation. No strings attached remember?"

He blew out a breath, "You had me going there for a minute."

"Sorry. I really was only kidding." she said.

"I'm just glad you're laughing now." he said.

Someone in the background called his name.

"I'll let you go." she said quietly., not wanting to hang up with him yet.

"Yeah I probably should, that was Jay giving me the evil eye." he griped.

"Okay, we'll just talk maybe later." she said trying to sound cheerful.

"Hey, I wanted to tell you, there's not anyone else. You know, I'm not seeing anyone else while I'm with you." he said.

She bit her lip, "You don't have to make that commitment to me Adam, seriously, date whoever you want to, I'm not the jealous type. I don't have any claim on you."

"We'll keep it open, but I wanted you to know I wouldn't do that to you. I don't want to put you at risk like that."

"I don't know Adam, those sound like rules or something." she stated.

"Personal ones…for me. I'm not holding you back, I just know my sister would castrate me if she found out I that we were having sex and that I was double dipping on you." he recovered.

"Wow, I can't believe you just said that." she laughed, not sure what to make of his proclamation.

Adam slapped his palm to his forehead in disgust with himself. How big of a moron did he just sound like? She was probably shaking her head at his idiotic dialogue.

"Right well, that's all I guess, sorry you had a bad night. If you need to talk you can always call me anytime. I don't mind." he told her.

"Thank you for cheering me up. I'll talk to you later." she said hanging up the phone.

He stared at his phone watching her name flash on the screen as the call disconnected. He snorted at himself, she could get him all discombobulated without even trying. He went back into the bar where Jay was waiting. He sat back down unable to stop thinking about Aiden. He knew she wasn't over Alex and his behavior. He was trying to come up with something to make her top thinking about that loser son of a bitch that she was married to when Jay tapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't hurt yourself there. You're thinking pretty hard about something huh, trying to figure out how to make fire again?" he joked.

Adam smiled, turning up his beer.

"And no comeback? Must have been Aiden, she okay?" Jay asked.

He lifted his shoulders, "It was that stupid, idiot prick again."

"That stupid, idiot, prick husband of hers?" Jay smirked raising an eyebrow.

Adam narrowed his eyes at him.

"What? Come on, you know I'm obligated to remind you of these things when you get in over your head. You're practically my brother." he retorted.

"I'm not in over my head Jay, I just hate it that he treats her so bad. It pisses me off when she cries over him." Adam growled.

Jay nodded, "I understand, but are you sure you want to be involved with her while she's still married to Alex? Haven't we been down the road before?"

"This is different. She's different." Adam sighed.

Jay laughed, "She's our sister's best friend, that's not something different."

"We've both been down that road, thank you very much. Aiden is different, she's in her own category in my book anyways." He said signaling the bartender for another round.

"I would love to see that book, just for the record." Jay laughed.

Adam allowed a slow grin to spread across his face. He knew exactly how he was going to make Aiden feel better and take her mind off of Alex.


	8. Is This A Date?

Three days passed and Aiden had eventually filled Ajay and Chris in on the details of her dinner with Alex. She made Ajay pinky promise not to pay Alex another visit. She had heard nothing from Alex, yet again. She kept herself busy with some work and taking care of Lexie so she wouldn't dwell on his continued mistreatment of them.

She was upstairs in her room changing her daughter into her pajamas when her phone rang, "Hello?"

"Hey, what's up?" Adam greeted.

She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face, "Just getting ready to put Lexie to bed. How are you?"

"Well, that all depends on you and your stealth abilities." he replied.

"I don't get it." she stated.

"Put Lexie to bed and call me back." he said hanging up.

She sat her phone on the bed and looked at Lexie with a puzzled face, "What's he talking about ? We think he's crazy sometimes don't we? He's lucky he's so handsome though, huh?"

Lexie broke into a smile at her mother's dialogue, though she didn't understand it.

"Stay away from the bad boys, okay? Will you do that for Mommy?" she smiled, kissing her cheek.

Lexie laughed then as she snuggled down into her crib.

Aiden covered her with a blanket, "Bonne nuit mon amour."

She turned off the light and called Adam back when she was in the hall.

"Those jeans you have on make your ass look perfect." he answered.

"What?" she questioned.

"And I like that shirt too." he said.

She pulled at her long sleeved black ballerina shirt that was off her shoulders.

"Where are you?" she whispered.

"Fell like an adventure?" he asked.

"You've got to stop talking in riddles, I'm not understanding." she told him.

"Look outside the window." he instructed.

She went to the window she was standing in front of and looked out the dark snow covered streets, "Okaaayyy…."

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the Hummer across the street. The driver side window rolled down and he leaned out with a quick wave.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to see you. Now tell Chris to cover for you so I can kidnap you for a little while." he told her, "I'll be waiting."

She stared at the vehicle, her heart thudding in her chest. She loved the mystery that surrounded him. She couldn't get enough of it. She went downstairs and discreetly put her purse by the door.

"Time for bed, Joey. I let you stay up an extra half hour." Ajay said as the Disney movie ended.

He only protested a little but put his arms up for her to pick him up. She went into the kitchen where Chris was putting up their popcorn bowl.

"I need you to do me a huge favor." Aiden pleaded.

"Sure, what?" he said, his brow furrowing.

"Will you tell Ajay that I went to bed already when she gets done putting Joey down if she asks?" she asked.

"Where are you going?" he frowned.

Aiden bit her lip, "To meet Adam."

Chris looked very indecisive at the moment, "Is he here?"

She nodded.

"Tell Daddy goodnight." Ajay said as she walked in with Joey.

"Night buddy, sleep tight." he said, hugging and kissing the little boy.

Joey held out his arms to Aiden, "Night A-Ten."

She kissed his cheek, "Goodnight Joey."

Ajay smiled and turned to go upstairs.

Aiden looked back at Chris.

"You better hurry if you're going." he gave in.

Aiden broke into a smile, "Thank you Chris!"

She pecked his lips and went to the front door.

Chris caught her, "Aiden, promise me you'll be careful and be back before morning."

"I promise." she smiled.

He handed her a house key and pointed outside. She grabbed her purse and dashed out into the cold night air. He waited until she made it to the Hummer before closing the door. Aiden went around to the open passenger door and jumped in.

"I don't know how in the world I didn't fall." she laughed.

He turned in his seat and brought her to him for a searing kiss. He stopped when he felt her shivering.

"Let's get out of here. I've got some surprises for you." he said, cranking the vehicle up and blasting the hot air for her.

They drove for awhile before Adam got up the courage to hold her hand.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

"It's a surprise, we'll be there in a little while." he answered, kissing the back of her hand.

Another twenty minutes and Adam pulled off onto a dirt road. They were way outside of the city limits. Aiden was getting anxious. They pulled up to a high hill that dropped off and overlooked the city in the distance.

He parked the car, "Wait here."

He hopped out and went to the back of the Hummer and grabbed a large bag.

She couldn't see him very well because of the illuminated interior was reflecting, so she had no idea what he was doing. Finally he came to her door and opened it for her.

"Put this on." he said, holding open a heavy sweater.

He took her hand and led her over to the area he had set up. He had put down a tarp on the snow and doubled up two large sleeping bags. He stopped her again and pulled a skull cap down over her ears.

"You look really cute in my hat." he said, grinning when she blushed.

She slipped off her Ugg boots and got into the sleeping bag. He took off his shoes and got in beside her. He poured them both a cup of hot chocolate and looked up at the stars.

"How did you come up with this idea?" she asked.

"Tonight there's going to be a meteor shower and I thought maybe we could watch it on our first date." he said.

"Is that what this is?" she wondered.

He looked at her, "That's what I would like it to be."

She nodded, "Okay."

When they finished their drinks Adam looked at his watch, "Should be starting soon."

He laid back, pulling Aiden to lay on his chest.

"Adam?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" he breathed.

"Why did you do all of this for me?" she questioned.

"It bothered me that you were so upset the other day and I wanted to make it up to you." he answered.

"It's really nice, I've never been on a date like this before." she smiled up at him.

He kissed her lips, "I like keeping you on your toes. You're very cute when you're caught off guard."

"Oh! I saw one!" she exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. The way her eyes lit up in excitement, the way her beautiful mouth formed the daintiest 'O' as she watched the shooting stars above.

"You're missing it." she sang, still looking at the sky.

"Right, sorry." he chuckled, turning to see the entertainment from above.

They watched in content silence for several minutes before Aiden spoke again.

"What's your greatest achievement so far in your life?" she asked.

"Being the WWE Champion. That was all of my hard work, my struggles, everything meant something that night because I was the best in the world." he said, "What about you?"

"Having Lexie, I know that's cliché, but she really is my everything." she smiled.

"So what made you get into the fashion industry? That's just as brutal as wrestling." he questioned.

She shrugged, "Ever since I was little I would make clothes for all of my dolls and have fashion shows for them."

"Why haven't you designed your own line yet?" he wondered.

"Mama entered me into some pageants to try and get me to open up and to not be so shy, but I was more interested in making my costumes and accessorizing with hair and makeup than I was with getting on stage. I was a backstage girl from the beginning, I guess." she explained, "What's your biggest regret?"

"Wow, getting deep quick!" he joked.

Aiden blushed, "I'm sorry."

He made a joke to try and throw her off some. His biggest regret was not being there for Joey after he was born and allowing Ajay to raise him. They had never discussed it, though he knew it bothered her that he had just abandoned his son with no explanation whatsoever. His joke was a way to bide time to think of another suitable regret.

"Probably that I was never faithful. That I wasn't the devoted husband I should have been." he admitted.

It was a regret of his, just not the biggest one.

"Why did you do it?' she asked, her voice soft and guarded.

"Guess I wasn't actually in love, I just thought I was. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever actually been in love." he answered, watching the streaks in the sky.

"That sort of makes sense." she said.

"What about you? Are you in love with Alex or do you just think you are?" he asked, feeling her tense up almost immediately.

He looked down at her, her whiskey colored eyes focusing on the sky, "I do love him, just not the things he says and does to me and Lexie."

"Why do you stay with him Ai? You could have any guy in the world." he pointed out.

She laughed sadly, "I guess I do look pretty pathetic from the outside looking in. This is the third time in our relationship that he's cheated on me, yet here I am still married to him, still putting up with his bullshit. I wish I could say that the only reason I was staying was for our daughter, but it's not. I stay because I can't forget the good times. I'm a stupid, naïve, romantic, optimist. I want what my parents have."

Adam rolled on his side to look down into her face, "I think you being naïve, romantic and optimistic are your most endearing qualities. You're not stupid for wanting a fairytale. Prince Charming just turned out to be a childish, self absorbed asshole. Good thing you've got me riding in on my black horse with blazing saddles to rescue you and burn the castle down."

Aiden smiled and leaned up to kiss him, "You are my dark knight aren't you?"

"Lewd, crude, and tattooed, baby." he teased.

"I do seem to always go for the bad boys, wonder why that is?" she asked.

He laid back down and pulled her back to him, "Good girls always do."

They watched the stars until it started snowing again an hour later. Aiden was putting her boots back on as Adam started the car, and gathered up the sleeping bags. She sat in the passenger seat, puzzled when she saw him spread out the sleeping bags in the back over the folded down seats. He tucked the wrap into storage and crawled into the back and closed the door.

"You gonna leave me back here by myself?" he grinned.

She rolled her eyes playfully, kicked off her boots again and crawled to the back. He pulled out a small cooler and began to empty the contents. He sat out chocolate covered strawberries and handed her two champagne glasses. He popped the cork and poured them both a glass. He raised his in a toast, "To a different kind of fairy tale."

She smirked and clinked glasses with him. He fed her a strawberry, letting her take a bite before he did.

"Jay was right about you. You are very intoxicating when you want to be." she said, with a sensual stare.

"You sure it's not the champagne?" he joked.

She downed her glass and set it aside as she sat her knees and took off the sweater and her shirt underneath. Adam licked his lips before taking a bite of another strawberry. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid out of them. She had him entranced as she reached behind her and undid her bra. She stared at him through the darkness before tipping his glass to his lips to make him finish. She set his glass aside and pushed him to lie down. He took his shirt off as she picked up another strawberry. She took a bite and leaned forward to kiss him. The taste of her mouth was driving him crazy. She got off of him and removed his jeans and boxers. She took the length of him into her mouth several times, making him moan and hiss at the sensation.

"You don't mind if I show you how much I appreciate tonight, do you?" she asked with a grin.

He shook his head, "Hell no, do whatever you want."

She shimmied out of her underwear and straddled him. His hands went to her hips to guide her onto his member. They locked eyes as she slowly took all of him into her.

"You okay? Did you want to switch?" he gasped.

"No." A sly smile spread across her face, "Sit back and enjoy yourself because I'm going to fuck your brains out."

Chris awoke and looked at the clock. It was almost five thirty in the morning. He had gotten up several times during the night to check on the kids and to see if Aiden had made it home yet. He stretched as he got out of bed again and slid on a t-shirt to go and make his rounds once again. He peeped in on Joey and Kenzie first, and then Lexie. Aiden still wasn't home yet. He groaned, he didn't want to have to call her to see where she was or what she was doing. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice. He went back into the living room to watch TV for awhile when he noticed shadows moving at the front door. His brow furrowed as he sung the door open. Adam had Aiden backed against the wall on the front step engaged in a serious make out session. Adam glared at Chris heatedly with a look that clearly read, "Why the hell did you have to open the door?"

"Do you want Ajay to find out? Because I thought this was some huge secret we were keeping?" Chris asked.

"I know Ajay just as well as you do. She doesn't get up before seven, ever, so chill out." Adam retorted, continuing to kiss Aiden's neck.

"That was before she had Kenzie. Aiden, come on, it's freezing out there." he urged.

Adam glared at the younger man, "Can you give us a minute? She'll be right there, okay?"

He pushed Chris back and closed the door in his face. Chris rolled his eyes and went to turn on the electric fireplace. He really didn't like Aiden with Adam. It made him very worried that she would end up like all of his other exes: broken hearted and scorned. He had just gotten the fire started when Aiden came inside.

Adam pulled her in for another kiss before spanking her and sending her on her way, "She's all yours, warden."

He winked at Aiden before closing the door.

Aiden sat on the couch, "Sorry for that. I told him not to act that way towards you."

Chris shrugged, "That's just Adam. He's always more arrogant when he gets laid."

Aiden dropped her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that." he sighed, "I just worry about you being with him."

"We're not together. We're just hanging out, it's completely casual." she said, feeling the need to explain.

He took her hand, "That's what I'm afraid of, baby. You just don't seem like you can do casual, sweetheart. You're way too loving and caring for that."

"Chris…" she whined.

He put his hands up, "I'm just looking out for you. I do NOT want to say I told you so."

She pecked his lips before going to the stairs, "Thank you for worrying about me, and for covering for me too."

"Aiden?" he called with a slight grimace on his face.

She turned to look at him.

He heaved out a breath, his face still in a frown.

"I-I've got to ask, you are being careful, right? I mean you and him are using protection…right?"

Aiden blushed furiously.

"Please say yes. I don't know if we're ready to go through that again so soon." he said.

"I'm on the pill, there won't be any of that again anytime soon." she informed, though her expression was crestfallen and sad.

Chris went to her and pulled her into a hug, "You know what I mean. Ajay is finally back to normal about everything, you haven't had any serious attacks in awhile, Alex is being a moron yet again…a baby would complicate that like times a thousand."

She nodded, "We're being careful. I'm religious with my pills, trust me."

"Maybe a condom too, for me?" he asked with a little puppy dog face.

"Why don't you tell him for me." she suggested with a huff.

He smiled and pulled her chin up to look in her eyes, "You know I love you and I'm just looking out for you, right?"

"I know." she answered.

"Go get some sleep." he ordered, kissing her cheek.

* * *

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and TJ Sparkles for their reviews. Ya'll are the BEST!**_


	9. Long Ride Home

Adam and Aiden continued to meet up with each other every chance they got. He had even accompanied her to make arrangements for Lexie's birthday party. This weekend he was extremely excited because they had worked it out where Ajay thought Aiden and Lexie were in Savannah visiting her family, when in reality, they would be staying with him in Tampa.

When they had first arrived it was somewhat nerve wracking because _she_ was going to be staying in _his_ bachelor pad. He had showed her around and walked down to the beach. She had cooked him dinner and they both put Lexie down to sleep. They didn't really force the issue of having sex, but curled up in each other's arms and enjoyed each other's company. He woke up early the next morning to fix some coffee and start breakfast. She came downstairs a little while later in his t-shirt yawning.

"You are ridiculously adorable in my shirt." he grinned.

She sat at the table with a coy wink.

"You okay? Did I snore too loud last night?" he asked.

"No, I was disappointed that you weren't in bed this morning that's all." she hinted, her eyes twinkling.

He looked up from pouring her coffee, "Why is that?"

She shrugged, "Oh, nothing, just that I'm very frisky early in the morning and late at night."

The spoon clinked in the cup noisily as he fumbled it.

"Is that so?" he asked, his hands on his hips.

She smirked, "And it's a very good possibility that I'm not wearing anything under this."

He motioned for her to come to him with his finger and a devious smile. She slinked her way to him. When she was directly in front of him, she raised her arms for him to lift the shirt off of her. Just as she said, she was completely nude underneath.

"I'm making a mental note right now by the way." he said, as he lifted her onto the counter.

She squealed out her surprise and shivered, "It's cold!"

He laughed, "That's right, you're not used to the ways of the polar bear."

She stuck her tongue out at him as he quickly grabbed her to capture it with his mouth. She giggled and pushed him away to hop down off the counter. She took off running as he chased her down and grabbed her up throwing her onto his shoulder. He went into the guest bedroom and flipped her onto the bed. She crawled beneath the covers as he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his pajama pants. He joined her beneath the covers moving over her body sensually. He could get used to her being here every morning.

"Where are you going so early?" Chris groaned, shielding his eyes from the light.

"I've got to run to Tampa to drop this off to Adam for Gran." she whispered.

"Can't you do that later? Come back to bed." he suggested.

She shook her head, "I want to be back before the kids wake up."

She kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair, "Love you. See you in a little while."

"Love you too." he sighed, rolling over to fall back asleep.

Ajay enjoyed the drive from Orlando to Tampa, the scenery was so much different that Detroit or Canada. Everything up there was a white winter wonderland while down here it was barely even cold. She pulled into her brother's driveway and pulled out her spare key. She didn't want to be very long so she could get back to Joey and Kenzie. She unlocked the front door and punched in the code to his security system. She figured he was still asleep, so she was going to raid his fridge before she went to wake him up. She narrowed her eyes at the two coffee cups on the table still steaming. She smirked, so he had fresh meat over, great. She always loved embarrassing him in front of his new girlfriends as payback for all of the times he'd done it to her. She heard grunts and moans float down the hall. An evil grin spread across her face as she snagged a red bull from his fridge.

"Yes!" a female voice shouted out, followed by Adam's voice.

She tip toed a little closer to the room.

"Adam, don't stop…" she heard he female voice again and this time it made Ajay freeze. It sounded all too familiar. She knew that voice from somewhere and was racking her brain to try and recall it. When she heard the familiar tinkling laugh, her blood ran cold. Nobody could mimic that sweet laugh…Aiden's laugh.

"Wrap those legs around me beautiful." Adam instructed with another groan.

Ajay went into the room, standing in the doorway in complete and utter shock. Her brother for all intents and purposes was moving slowly over her very best friend. Her throat went dry as she watched them kiss passionately, soft noises of approval filled her head. All she could see, all she could feel, was rage.

"What the FUCK is going here?" she spat out loudly.

She heard Aiden's gasp of surprise as she and Adam looked at her in shock.

"Ajay?" she squeaked, scrambling to cover herself.

Adam got off Aiden and rolled next to her, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

He was mad, he always got mad when she caught him doing something or in this case someone wrong. Anger was his first line of defense.

"What the fuck is SHE doing here Adam?" Ajay seethed.

"What did it look like Ashton?" he asked sarcastically.

She glanced at Aiden who didn't dare look up at her. Adam reached onto the floor for his pants and slid them on.

"That's just like you Adam, making fucking jokes. You think I find this funny, asshole? You think lying to me to sleep with my best friend is funny? Because I missed the fucking punch line." She yelled.

"Ajay, it wasn't entirely his fault…I-I haven't been honest with you either." Aiden tried, her voice wavering.

"Shut up Cookie! You would have never done anything like this if it weren't for him!" Ajay pointed to Adam.

He was irate then, "Don't fucking talk to her like that! And who the hell do you think you are barging into my damn house like this?"He got in her face then.

Aiden sprung off the bed, the sheet wrapped around her, "Please, both of you just stop. Let me get dressed and we can talk, please?"

Adam took her hand and went upstairs to his room with her.

He slammed the door so hard he was sure it had come off its hinges. She pulled on a black high waist pants with a champagne button up.

He went to her, all of the malice erased from his features as he cupped her face, "Let me go down there and kick her ass out, I don't want her to ruin our weekend okay, baby?"

She shook her head sadly, "I have to talk to her, Adam. I've never lied to her about anything before."

He kissed her trembling lips before following her back downstairs. Ajay was tapping her foot impatiently when they went into the living room together. Aiden sat on the couch, Adam at her side protectively.

Ajay rolled her eyes, "Did you not learn anything from the last time you hooked up with my friend, Adam? You just weasel your way into Cookie's life at the worst possible time. She's still fucking married, Adam, what are you thinking?"

"Yeah, and so is he, but that doesn't' make what he does to her any better, why don't you go and yell at his dumbass and leave us alone." he said.

"I have, trust me. Seriously though, why Aiden? Why my best friend again?" Ajay groaned.

He laughed, "Why NOT her? She's sexy, sweet, smart…"

"And you're a fucking commitment phobe dumbass! What are you going to do when that time goes off in your head saying that it's time to move on? Are you just going to break her heart like all the others? Leave me to pick up your pieces yet again?" she yelled.

He gritted his teeth furiously, "Don't you dare bring that up Ajay. We're not dating or anything, we're just talking and hanging out."

"And having sex." she interrupted.

"Will you shut up and let me finish!" he bellowed standing up, "Yes, we're having sex, the last time I checked she was old enough to make decisions for herself. She doesn't need you to baby-sit her."

"No, she needs me to protect her from guys like you! I love you, Adam, but I can't be happy about this. Your track record speaks for itself and I'm not going to allow Aiden to be caught up in your web of lies, other women, missed phone calls, and disappearing acts. I'm just not going to let you do that to her." Ajay said.

He threw his hands up, "Yeah, because I'm this awful person right? I don't deserve a girl like Aiden because I'm a fuck up, huh?"

"Exactly! I mean look how you've already affected her! Cookie NEVER lies to me about anything, and she did it to be with you! How long have you been together? Come on Adam, fill me in if you're so proud of your relationship." she gestured wildly.

He crossed his arms, "We don't have to tell you shit!"

"We thought this would be over long before you ever had to find out. We both knew how much it would hurt you, that's the only reason we didn't want to tell you." Aiden said quietly, "The first time we got together was after Alex came over and started the fight."

Ajay laughed ruthlessly, "That's SO your M.O., swoop in when they're the most vulnerable and take what you want. Aiden, he doesn't care about you, he will leave you high and dry as soon as he finds a new girl to entertain him. He's another Alex, only ten times worse."

Adam stalked over to his sister and shook her slightly, "Don't compare me to that motherfucker! I may not be any good with relationships, which she's well aware of, trust me, but I would never put my hands on her the way he did. I do fucking care about her, I hate it when he upsets her!"

She shoved him away from her, "And then you make it all better don't you? I've heard enough! Aiden, get your stuff. You're coming with me."

"The fuck she is! You don't tell her what to do." he yelled furiously.

As always, his gaze and features softened when he turned to Aiden, "You don't have to leave. You can stay here for the rest of the weekend and then fly back to Detroit with me like we had planned. She needs time to cool down anyways."

Ajay scoffed, "Oh, shut up Adam. Aiden, go get your shit and let's go, because I'm not leaving without you."

"I'm sorry, Adam." Aiden frowned, tears spilling out of her eyes as she went to get her stuff.

Adam sat back on the couch his head leaned back to stare at the ceiling. He wanted to tear everything in his house to shreds, he wanted to boot Ajay out to the curb for fucking up his weekend with Aiden. He just sat there fuming instead. Ajay went to the stairs when Aiden returned with Lexie in tow. She grabbed her bags and marched out to the car.

Adam got up from the couch again and stopped Aiden, "Listen, she's just mad right now and overreacting. You don't really have to go. She'll cool off and finally fucking realize you're an adult and get over it."

Aiden was cradling Lexie to her tears still in her eyes, "Adam, I can't stay. She's letting me live with her right now, she's my best friend. I just have to go, please understand."

He nodded, shushing her some, "Don't cry, baby, it kills me."

"Aiden! Let's. Go!" Ajay shouted from the drive.

He gritted his teeth tightly at his annoying brat of a sister, "Let me get the car seat out of my car."

He came out to the car where Aiden and Ajay were waiting and buckled the seat in for Aiden. She bent and put Lexie in it, who was still asleep. Aiden looked up at Adam apologetically.

"I'll call you okay?" he muttered, leaning down to kiss her.

She turned her head quickly, "Not right now."

She got in the passenger seat and buckled up.

Adam leaned into the car slightly, "This is bullshit Ajay, you guilt tripping Aiden into going with you."

Ajay cranked up the SUV and yanked it into reverse, "Go fuck yourself Adam, she chose to come with me. Now close the door."

He pointed at her, his eyes bugging slightly, "Calm the fuck down right now before you start driving with them in the car, and I mean it."

"Don't play the saint now, Adam. Close the door now!" Ajay barked.

"Fucking bitch! I'm calling Jay!" He yelled, slamming the car door.

Aiden jumped in her seat at the force of it. She pulled on her sunglasses dreading the ride back to Orlando.

* * *

_**That's going to be a LONG ride home :( Let me know what you think!**_

**_Thanks to Kennedy, Alice Jericho, and I think we can all agree with Irshbeth that Adam is HOT! lol thanks for the reviews!_**

**_xoxo TJ Sparkles for reviewing and continuing to knock these chapters out! xoxo_**


	10. I HATE The Couch!

The ride back to Ajay and Chris' house was exceptionally quiet, except for Lexie's mumbled nonsense from the backseat. Aiden was praying that this wasn't like the last time Ajay had been mat at her. She definitely could not stand that again. They pulled up to the house, Ajay gathered Aiden's luggage as she took her daughters from her car seat.

As soon as they came into the house, Chris' face deadpanned, "Oh shit."

"Daddy said a bad word!" Joey tattled.

Ajay glared at Chris, "You knew where she was?"

Aiden shook her head no at him but Ajay caught her.

"You _knew_, Joshua?" Ajay hissed.

He dropped his eyes and nodded.

"When the kids go down for their nap, we are going to talk about this." she ordered, taking Aiden's stuff to the guest room.

"I didn't even think to call you and tell you she was coming. I thought you know you could just hide upstairs or something." he apologized.

"Well that would have worked had she not used her key and walked in on us while we were in the middle of having S-E-X." Aiden sighed, sitting Lexie down on the floor.

Chris choked, "Are you serious?"

Aiden nodded, "I was so embarrassed, Chris, and Adam has called me a hundred times and I know I'll feel guilty if I call him back. I didn't tell her that you knew, you totally outed yourself."

"It's probably better this way. Maybe we can get lucky and the kids won't go down for their naps." he grinned.

"Think she'll notice Red Bull in their sippy cups?" she whispered.

He shrugged and pulled her into a sideways hug, "We'll get through this. She loves us too much to kill us."

"Let's hope so."

* * *

Several hours later, the kids went down for their naps without any trouble. Chris and Aiden came back downstairs to face the music.

"Sit." Ajay ordered.

They both sat and looked like they had just stepped into the principal's office.

"So when did you find out?" she glared at Chris.

"The night that we went to the movies, well, almost went to the movies." he stammered.

Aiden looked at Chris,

"It wasn't his fault. He was trying to do me a favor, Ajay, please don't be mad at him."

"No, I should have told her Aiden. I knew I should have. I really shouldn't have been so damn nosy actually, that way I wouldn't have had to hide anything. I'm sorry Ajay. I really am." Chris said.

"Just don't, okay? I need time to think about this. Why would my boyfriend lie to me to protect my best friend and brother? Why would my intelligent best friend choose to sleep with my shady bed hopping brother? These are things I need to ponder for a little while. Is there anything else I should know?" she asked.

They looked at each other.

"We love you?" they both asked with innocent looks on their faces and their heads together.

"Better not be anything else. Enjoy the couch, Chris." she stated, going upstairs.

"Shit! I hate the fucking couch!" he mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Aiden frowned, hugging him again.

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. She'll get over it soon enough. No more sneaking off for a little while, okay?"

"Promise." she sighed.

* * *

Jay called Ajay after getting bitched out by Adam only to be bitched out again by her because he knew and didn't tell her either. After a few days, things gradually got better between Ajay and Chris. He had been sucking up in every way possible. He would bring her flowers and breakfast, that Aiden had fixed and he took credit for, up to their room, he washed her car, paid for massages, and snuck in amazing sex sessions to earn back Ajay's good graces.

By the third day, he was off the couch and back in the bedroom. Jay had even made up with his sister by the end of the week ,visiting her at Can-Am while she was training, and explaining his side of the story.

Two weeks later, Aiden and Adam were still in the dog house. She had very little contact with him so as not to incur anymore of Ajay's wrath.

Aiden was sitting on the couch downstairs watching Lexie crawl around, oblivious to the loud moans and headboard banging against the wall upstairs. Chris came downstairs when they were finished and plopped on the couch like nothing had happened.

Aiden shut her computer down,

"Sure wish it were that easy for me to get Ajay to forgive me."

Chris grinned over at her,

"You could always put out and see if it worked. I'd pay to watch."

She picked Lexie up and sat her on her lap,

"That's what got me in trouble in the first place."

Chris laughed then, "Sorry babe, I don't know what to tell you.'

Aiden kissed Lexie's cheeks, "Let's go shopping for your party, how about that? We'll be back later."

"Be careful." He called.

* * *

Ajay came downstairs an hour later,

"I'm so glad Bailey offered to watch Kenzie and Joey today. That was amazing."

"You're just now getting up?" he asked, shifting so they could lay on the couch together.

She kissed him softly, "I had to take a nap after that one."

He chuckled, then groaned when the doorbell rang.

"Let Cookie get it." Ajay sighed.

"She and Lexie went shopping." He informed.

She huffed and went to the front door.

She locked eyes with Adam when she swung the door open, "She's not here."

"I came to talk to you." He said lowly.

She turned and went back to the living room. He closed the door and followed her, pissed at himself for letting Jay talk him into apologizing. He never apologized, _EVER_.

"What do you want to talk about, Fatso?" Ajay glared.

He let out a long breath, "I'm sorry."

She sat back, shocked by his admission, "Seriously?"

"Yes." He grated out.

"Well, forgive me if I don't believe you." She snapped.

"Don't bust my balls about this. You know I don't like fighting with you. I hate it, actually. Aiden won't talk to me because of her loyalty to you, so I'm sorry, alright?" he shot back.

Ajay laughed, "She cut you off?"

"Of course she did, she's not going to do anything to intentionally piss you off." He told her.

"Except sleep with you." She pointed out.

He snorted sarcastically, "Really Ajay? Really? Am I that bad of a fucking person?"

"Yeah." Chris muttered.

Adam snapped his head to the younger man, "Nobody asked you, Sabin."

Ajay looked at her brother closely, he was hiding something.

"What's the real reason you came to apologize, Adam? And if you lie I'm going to kick you out." She threatened.

He ran his hand through his hair a tell tale sign he was quickly getting frustrated, "Lexie's birthday is only a week away and I can't stop thinking about Aiden being there with that douche bag alone."

"She won't be alone, we'll be there." Chris piped up again.

"He means without a date." Ajay explained, "You really do care if you sucked up all of that pride to come over here to try and make things right because of a birthday party."

"I was helping her plan a few things, called in a few favors for her for the party, so I know how important it is to her." He shrugged.

Ajay raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"And I can't stand the fact that she'll have to face Alex and whatever bimbo he's gonna bring without somebody of her own. I don't want her to go through that or for him to have that satisfaction." He said chewing on his lip.

"What about after the party?" Ajay questioned.

He let out a frustrated howl, "I would like to continue seeing her, if that's alright with you. Shit, Ajay, I feel like I'm trying to get into Harvard."

Ajay scoffed,

"Aiden's much more important than that. She's not just a casual friend, this is what I want you to understand. She is Aiden, my best friend, my Cookie, my daughter's godmother, my sister by choice. Next to Gran and Kenzie, she is the most important female in my life. I don't take lightly to the way Alex treats her, you can ask his nuts if you want proof. We've been through a lot together, and I will not apologize for wanting to protect her from you. You honestly can't think that I would forget all of your past transgressions. If anything they're more pronounced now. She's been through a lot this past year and you possibly breaking her heart is a hazard she just doesn't need."

Adam sat quietly, taking in everything she had just said. He knew if he was in her shoes he would feel the same way, no doubt in his mind.

"I mean, you don't even love her. You _love_ having sex with her maybe, but you're not _in_ love with her." She started again, "I mean, I know her, and the poor girl can wear her heart on her sleeve sometimes. She dives in head first without ever looking, she's fearless when it comes to falling in love or caring too much and she gets burned really bad sometimes for that. She's such a sweet girl, she wants everyone to like her and it honestly scares me about what the outcome would be if she fell in love with you and you broke her heart. I honestly don't think I would ever speak to you again, and that scares me too about the two of you getting involved with each other. It would kill me to lose you but I know I would choose her over you. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

He nodded solemnly. He had never thought of his relationship with Aiden affecting Ajay to that degree.

"You know, if it were just about the sex, I could walk away. I could end this right now to avoid hurting you and her in the long run, but it's not. The first night, I'll admit it was definitely all lust, but we started talking and getting to know each other on a deeper level, and she's honestly grown on me. She was going to be a friend with benefits, but she's more than that to me now. I may not be in love with her, but she's not in love with me either. Everybody really should give her a lot more credit. She's fragile and delicate on the outside sure, but on the inside she's all heart, she's just as tough as you, Ajay. She knows what she does and does not want, she's very decisive, and being in a relationship with me or anybody else for that matter is not something she wants at the moment. She's enjoying being free spirited, and for all I know, she could leave _me_ with a broken heart." He carefully explained.

"Yeah, right." Chris interrupted.

Adam smiled, "She's easy to love, you've said it yourself, it could happen. Who knows? The point is, though, that as much as I know both of you, and even Jay for that matter, feel the need to guide and protect her, ultimately she's going to decide for herself, and I hope that we can all stand by her when she does."

Aiden came in the front door with Lexie bundled up in her car seat and her arms full of bags.

"Ajay?" she called out.

"In here." She returned.

"I've got the cutest little favors for the party, you're going to die when you see them!" she gushed, coming into the living room, "Adam!"

She stopped in her tracks, seeing him sitting on the couch.

"Hey." He greeted, feeling the unfamiliar butterflies in his stomach.

Aiden looked at both Chris and Ajay, "What are you doing here?"

She sat Lexie's car seat down in shock and took a seat in the recliner.

"Talking about you actually." He smirked.

"So that's why my ear was itching?" she grinned.

"Yeah, I guess so." He laughed, "I came to apologize to Ajay for keeping us a secret from her."

She looked back at Ajay, who was actually smiling.

"He spoke very highly of you of course, not that I was surprised, but I did get to hear his side of the story and it did make sense, believe it or not." She said,

"If the two of you want to _'hang out'_, as you call it, then that's fine with me. The only reason I protested was because I didn't want you to get hurt, but Adam was right, write down the date and time I said this, you're an adult and can make up your own mind."

Aiden blinked slowly, "So you're not mad anymore?"

"You're so cute, no, I'm not." She paused looking at Adam, "But if you hurt her in any way I will put your penis in a blender."

He winced, "Thanks for that visual."

Ajay smiled.

"This doesn't mean we're dating or anything, or that we will ever date. It just means that we're going to enjoy each other's company with no strings attached." Aiden said, looking at Adam for an okay.

He nodded, "Right, and I'll say this right now in front of everyone, if I do, for whatever reason, find someone I want to actually date, I swear that I will not make any moves before letting you know."

Aiden blushed when he got up to stand in front of her, "So now will you pick up your damn phone when I call you?" he wondered.

"I guess so." She teased.

He slowly leaned down to kiss her lips.

He felt her hesitate a little, so he pulled back instead of thrusting his tongue in her mouth like he so desperately wanted to do, "Let's see those favors."

* * *

After dinner, everyone watched TV and talked until it was time for bed.

"Mind if I stay with you tonight?" Adam whispered, waiting for Aiden to come out of the guest bathroom.

She wrung her hands nervously. She had never had another man stay the night around Lexie.

"I'll take the couch if you don't feel comfortable." he said, seeing the conflict on her face.

She took his hand and pulled him down to her room. She was tired of sleeping alone. She missed another person's warmth.

Chris watched covertly down the hall. His stomach had been in knots since Ajay had given Aiden and Adam her blessing. He shut the door to their room and got in bed.

Ajay stopped flipping through the channels, picking up on his foul mood, "What's wrong with you?"

He exhaled loudly, "I just don't like it. I don't like Adam with her."

Ajay rolled to her side, "Why not?"

"Because he's Adam. His track record of one night stands and failed marriages is a mile long." he griped.

"But you were okay with her dating Alex." She pointed out.

"That was different. Alex is capable of loving someone and I truly believe he does love Aiden, he's just going through an asshole phase right now." he said.

She kissed his cheek and laid her head on his chest,

"I have my doubts too, but I know Adam pretty well. He's very protective and the jealous type. He can be possessive. I like those traits for anyone that dates her. She needs someone strong to lean on for support, especially for Lexie's birthday coming up. Let's see how he does at the party and then decide, okay?"

"Okay." he gave in, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast, Ajay and Chris went to pick up Kenzie and Joey. When they got back, Aiden and Adam were watching TV, with Lexie reclined back on Adam's lap.

Chris sat down, pretending to watch the show, but was distracted by watching them like a hawk. Ajay sat next to him and started doing the same thing.

"I can't do anything to screw up sitting here with a baby on my lap watching TV." he sang.

Aiden giggled when they tried to cover and make it seem like they hadn't been staring at him.

That afternoon he had to leave to fly out to go to work.

"Are you going to be back for the party?" Aiden asked softly.

He cupped her face, "I promise I'll be back."

She nodded, "Are you sure you don't want me to go to the airport with you?"

He smirked, "You can't even walk in snow, much less drive. Stay here, I would worry about you getting back."

He kissed her long and sensually. The kind of kiss that always made her dizzy with lust.

"I'll see you in a few days. Give Roly Poly a kiss for me too." he grinned.

She smiled and nodded, watching him head out into the snow to catch a ride with Chris.

* * *

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, for their reviews! And to TJ Sparkles who pulls double duty by being my super hero beta(you can't have her!:) and for reviewing as well! xoxo **_

**_Review! The party is coming soon!_**


	11. Valentine's Day Massacre: Part 1

_**Thanks to Kennedy, Alice Jericho, and TJ Sparkles for their reviews :) and to TJ for being my spectacular beta!**_

**_Ya'll are AWESOME!_**

* * *

The rest of the week flew by as the final preparations were being prepared for the party. Chris and Ajay were the first to arrive. They came in with their mouths open in shock.

"I swear only Cookie would rent a **VENUE** for her child's first birthday party." Ajay observed.

The hotel ballroom was totally bedecked in lavish reds and delicate pinks. Tables and chairs were covered with rich red linens. Centerpieces were large bowls filled with rose petals and romantic floating candles. Place settings were spelled out in little candy hearts attached to paper. Twinkling lights adorned the room completing the formal yet cozy atmosphere.

Joey was ohhing and ahhing at the decor wanting, to investigate. Ajay kept a firm grip on his hand, however. They walked up to Aiden, who was instructing the staff of servers how she wanted them to do their job and reminding them of the order of the courses. She turned around when she was done, a smile forming on her face.

"Hi." she greeted.

"Cookie, this is insane! Lexie Lou is turning one not..." Ajay started but was cut off by Chris elbowing her sharply.

"Is it too much?" Aiden frowned.

"No, baby, it's perfect." Chris encouraged, adjusting Kenzie in his arms, "Where is the birthday girl?"

Aiden pointed to the decorated swing on the stage, "She's taking a nap, so hopefully she'll make it through the party. I wish they made adult size swings like that, because I would definitely invest in one right about now."

Ajay squeezed Aiden's hand; she could tell she was nervous.

"Joey, if you want you can go check out the kid's area and tell me if it needs anything." Aiden smiled as he took off, "And you guys are over there. I was selfish and put you near me and Lexie, but you know, you can mingle or whatever. That's totally fine if you want."

Chris' brow furrowed, "Why are you so worked up, sweetheart? Everything is immaculate, you look gorgeous and I'm sure whatever dress you got for 'Baby Angel' is going to be perfect too."

Aiden smiled and nodded.

Chris knew that look anywhere. It was always the one she put on when she was trying to fake them out.

"Aiden...what's wrong?" Chris pushed.

She let out a long breath, "I really want this party to go well and Ales is the unknown variable. Maybe he'll behave and understand how important this is, but not knowing for sure is killing me."

They both exchanged glances.

"Speak of the devil." Ajay muttered dryly.

Alex had just arrived with none other than Lacey Von Erich in tow.

They walked over, Lacey marveling at the decor.

Alex left his date's side and gave Aiden a quick kiss on the cheek, "You really outdid yourself, honey."

"I just wanted it to be special. I almost didn't get the chance to celebrate, you know." she said.

He turned to Lacey, "Aiden, this is Lacey Von Erich, Lacey, this is my wife, Aiden."

"You are like so talented for putting all of this together. Alex showed me some of the things you designed and put together, and just like wow! I would have never thought to come up with something like this." She rambled, still entranced by the decor.

"That's not surprising." Ajay smiled.

It was a well-known fact that she despised Lacey backstage, then again no one really liked the airhead. She finally stopped looking around and focused on Aiden's white dress.

"O-M-G! Is that a for real Valentino?" she squealed.

"Yeeesss." Aiden answered slowly.

She gasped, "And like how do you walk in those shoes? They're so tall?"

"Walking is kinda hard, isn't it, Lace?" Ajay couldn't help herself.

Aiden looked down at her red satin peep toe Louboutins, "I'm used to it."

"No wonder Alex married you. You're so cute." Lacey smiled her clueless smile.

Aiden's smile was deceptive, she was very quickly turning into a "mean girl", "Listen, I don't have a problem with you being Alex's date, I really don't. I hope you both enjoy yourselves. But don't let this dress and these heels fool you, because if you touch my daughter at any time during the night, you will be very sorry. I've taken on trannies twice your size for much less, sweetheart. She's off limits, understand?"

"No, no, I won't. I don't want to upset..." Lacey rambled again.

"Good." Aiden cut her off, turning to go get Lexie ready.

Alex shook his head with a smirk going to follow Aiden. He always loved her rarely seen feisty side. Ajay and Chris left Lacey by herself laughing under their breaths.

* * *

Alex closed the door to the room where Aiden had gone to change their daughter. She laid her on the soft couch to take her onesie off. She yawned, making both of her parents smile.

"I almost forgot how beautiful she is." he said quietly.

Aiden swallowed the dozen or so smart comments that popped into her head. She really wanted to keep the peace tonight.

"Her eyes are getting darker, like yours." Aiden stated.

She had really hoped that Lexie would keep her amber colored eyes.

"They are, aren't they?" he noticed, "I'll change her diaper, go get that huge fluffy dress ready."

"Don't make fun of this dress! Stella McCartney made it specifically for our daughter. 'Savannah Valentine' is its name." Aiden sighed, looking at the stunning red tutu dress.

He looked back at her, "You named the damn thing?"

Aiden glared at him, "I'm warning you, Alex, not a bad word about this dress and I mean it."

He laughed, "I was just asking, babe. I think it's very cute actually."

He changed her diaper and put on the red bloomers that had Lexie's name in swarovski crystals on her too. He picked her up and went to Aiden, who was waiting for the hand held steamer to heat up. He put a hand on her shoulder to turn her around. She looked up at him. His face was compassionate and loving, he looked like his old self again.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked.

Her eyes were filling with tears, "Sometimes."

She was shocked when his did too.

"This whole week has been hell for me because all I could think about was how I almost lost you last year. How I almost had to her birthday party by myself. It just kind of hit me again that I almost didn't get that happy ending." he said, gently brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Lately I've felt like you..." she paused, a small sob leaving her as she looked down, "Like you wished I hadn't made it."

He steeled his jaw as his own tears fell. His heart took several moments to beat when she looked up at him with her doe eyes. He could see how bad she was hurting, how badly he had hurt her.

"That's the last thing I want. I don't care how bad we fight or how mad I get; I never want anything to happen to you. You're my wife, my daughter's mother; no matter what, Aiden, we'll always be connected through her. I will always love you for giving me another beautiful child. I know I don't act like it or tell you enough sometimes, but you really are important to me. You're not like any of the other women that have been in my life. We're going through a rough time right now, but you're my soul mate. You've got a lot of my priority, even if it doesn't seem that way." he told her sincerely.

Aiden closed her eyes, relieved at his words. She had been terrified of the "D" word. He lifted her up to look at him and kissed her deeply. Her heart felt like it had wings as it beat wildly in her chest.

"Let's get this baby dressed and have a good time tonight. I know you worked really hard on everything."

"Alex." she stopped him, "Why did you just tell me all of that?"

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug, "I realized how big of an asshole I've been to you lately and all of the things you've done for me."

She kissed him again, "Thank you."

"Do you love me too?" he asked with a wince on his face.

"I do love you." she said quietly.

He gasped making Lexie laugh, "You hear that? Mommy loves me back even though Daddy hasn't been very nice. What about you, my baby angel, do you still love daddy?"

The little girl scrunched her face into an adorable grin.

"I'll take that as a yes." he said.

They got Lexie into her dress and Aiden fixed her hair with pink and red swarovski barrettes.

"Both of you look amazing." Alex commented as Aiden held Lexie in her arms, "Let's do this."

He took her hand and led her out to where the ballroom was very quickly filling up. Aiden's friends from the fashion industry were the first to descend on them.

* * *

Bailey, Petey, Mollie, James, Jessica and Traci had all just arrived.

"Holy shit!" Jessica said loudly.

Everybody was thinking it.

"She went a little overboard, didn't she?" Mollie muttered.

Petey smiled, "Come on, it's Aiden. She's probably never thrown a child's birthday party in her life. These parties are all she knows."

Traci looked around in awe, "Well, I'm sold! Somebody's got to introduce me to this girl. We are so going to have to go shopping together. Seriously, I thought I was the best at throwing parties, can you imagine how insane they would be if Aiden and I teamed up. Do you think she would go for it?"

Bailey laughed, "You're so easy, T."

"So are you, Bay, look at all the damn kids you got." James teased, earning a slap or a punch from all the women.

"Bitches." he growled.

"You rang?" Jessica smiled, "This is my kind of party, little princess has an open bar setup! Shall we, James?"

He held out his arm to her, which she took so they could head off to the bar. Riley took off to play with Joey and the other children.

"About time you showed up!" Ajay greeted, standing to hug everyone.

"Kenzie is too cute!" Mollie admired, taking the little girl from Chris.

"So are Jayden and Ajay Marie, I can't believe how big they've gotten." Ajay smiled at the toddlers in their high chairs.

"How has Aiden been doing?" Petey asked.

"She's doing fine. I thought she was going to die from anticipation for today to finally arrive. She worked very hard, as you can see." Ajay answered.

"What about her and Alex? Have they still been at each other's throats?" Bailey wondered, wanting to be on top of her gossip.

Chris shrugged, "Not really. They don't really speak to each other so it's been pretty calm lately."

"I would have never guessed they were even fighting, look at them." Traci gestured.

They all turned to see the couple talking to one of Aiden's friends. Lexie played with her mother's necklace; she was in her own little world.

"They could give Brad and Angelina a run at the hottest couple, no offense, but they look great together!" Traci admired.

"Do you want me to introduce you?" Ajay guessed.

"Please! I'm dying to meet her." Traci bubbled, hopping out of her seat.

Mollie rolled her eyes, "It's some kind of Voo Doo spell that she does to make everyone instantly like her. I know it is."

"Don't start, Mollie." Chris groaned.

"Right, I know, _Team Aiden_!" she gestured sarcastically with Kenzie's arms.

Bailey snickered, despite the glares she was getting from Chris and Petey.

* * *

Ajay and Traci walked up to Aiden and Alex, who chatting with another guest.

"Hey Trace." Alex greeted, hugging her.

"Hi." she squealed, looking at Aiden like she was a big giant candy bar.

"Cookie, this is Traci Brooks, a very good friend of mine who is dying to meet you. Traci, this is Aiden Martin, Alex's wife and mother to this gorgeous angel." Ajay introduced, pinching the baby's cheeks, making her bounce in Aiden's arms and laugh her sweet little laugh.

"She is stunning, Aiden." Traci smiled, giving her a hug and air kisses on both of her cheeks.

"And heavy, want me to take her for a little while, babe?" Alex asked.

"Sure." she smiled, handing Savannah to Alex.

"I'm going to talk to 'The Crew' okay?" he asked.

She nodded as he pecked her lips.

Traci looked around the room taking in all the decorations, "I have the reputation of throwing the best parties around, but it looks like that honor is going to have to go to you. I mean, you even made heart ice cubes."

Aiden blushed, "It seems we share an eye for detail."

Traci gasped, "If we teamed up, my Halloween party would go from amazing to epic with your help."

Ajay laughed, "Knowing Cookie she would have real live dead people there."

Aiden laughed.

"You can do that?" Traci asked.

She shook her head, "No, but I would love to collaborate, Halloween's my favorite holiday."

"Mine too." Traci squealed.

Alex came back to Aiden's side, "Mind if I borrow her for a second?"

They both shook their heads.

He pulled her to the side, pulling her chin up to look at him, "I know I've been an ass the past couple of months and I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

She wet her lips, "Thank you for apologizing."

He shifted Lexie in his arms, "I don't expect you to forgive me. I know I've hurt you, but at the same time…I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten your cute pregnant belly, talking to your stomach every night, cutting our daughter's cord and seeing her for the first time, watching the chaos unfold as you left us, sitting by your side praying you weren't dead, kissing you for the first time all over again, and seeing your face the first time you laid eyes on her. What I've done is so incredibly stupid and selfish after everything you've done for me. I wanted you to know despite everything, how much I will always love you and Savannah and how much I love you for coming back to us after everything you went through."

He pulled out a velvet box and handed it to her. It was a signature silver heart ring that she had always wanted from Tiffany's.

He smiled as she put it on her right middle finger, "It reminded me of Lexie because of the heart."

She blinked back tears, "I love it, thank you."

He kissed her gently again as another guest came up to them.

* * *

Adam had sat outside the hotel for nearly fifteen minutes trying to get right before he made his entrance into the party. He was already late and was feeling the guilt from it. He got out of his rental after checking his reflection again. He walked into the ballroom and was thankful he was late. The place was packed and no one had really noticed him yet.

He saw Aiden talking with Ajay and Traci across the room. God, she was stunning even from a distance. He looked down at the bouquet of calla lilies he had gotten for her along with a present for Lexie. He began walking to her until he saw Alex come over and present her with a ring. He was shocked when she put it on, but even more so when she allowed Alex to kiss her. He changed directions and headed to his sisters' table.

"_Adam?_" Ajay asked, astounded at his sudden appearance, "I can't remember ever seeing you in a suit before."

He sat down, dropping the flowers on the table.

"Seriously, I'm in awe right now." Ajay marveled, snapping a picture of him for Jay and Gran.

Chris smirked, "You even did your hair."

"Who died?" Tessa Chandler asked haughtily as she came over to the table with AJ.

Adam ignored them as he fiddled with the wrapping around the flowers.

She raised an eyebrow in shock, "No comeback? Did someone actually die or something?"

No one answered her.

Ajay leaned closer to Adam, "What's wrong with you?"

He cut his eyes at her, "When the fuck did that asshole start kissing her again and shit?"

Ajay followed Adam's gaze and saw Alex with Aiden and Lexie looking every bit the happy family. She was a little surprised at the animosity in his voice.

"Thought you two weren't serious?" she whispered.

He sat back with a huff and started bouncing his knee in frustration. Ajay sighed and leaned back in Chris' arms.

Tessa had been watching her ex the entire time.

"Why are you here?" she questioned, her lips pursing into an all-knowing pout.

Adam glared at her, "What do you care?"

She smiled, "Answer the question, Adam."

She knew him well enough to know that he was a pretty laid back guy until something triggered him from his usual lackadaisical attitude. He only ever acted this hostile when he felt he or something he felt belonged to him was being threatened. She had dealt with this side of him plenty of times. He always acted angry to distract everyone from his true emotion.

She saw his jaw flex, his tell that he was overcompensating for something and that the next words out of his mouth would be a lie.

"Ajay invited me." he brushed off.

"Really? Well, why didn't she invite Jay?" Tessa pressed not thrown off by his answer.

"He couldn't make it." he lied again, the muscles in his neck flexing involuntarily.

She laughed sarcastically.

"Just leave it alone." AJ whispered in her ear.

She rolled her eyes; she was getting to the bottom of this. She owed him from all the pain he had caused her when they were together.

"Ajay didn't invite you, did she?" she waited to read his body language.

His eyes flicked across the room again and settled on someone over Tessa's shoulder. She turned to see Aiden giving her daughter a kiss.

Tessa snorted as she turned back around, "Never learn, do you?"

"Shut up…Contessa.," he growled.

"Tess, don't…" Ajay pleaded.

"You _know_?" she gaped, looking at her friend.

"It's complicated." she said, shaking her head.

Tessa crossed her arms, "It always is with him."

AJ threw his hands up, not knowing what was going on, "I don't even want to know."

Jessica, who had been sipping on her flask, surveying the argument, somehow caught onto the gist of what was going on.

"Wait a second, hold on." she yelled, pointing at Adam, "You're fucking Baby Spice over there?"

The room stopped, all eyes were on Aiden, who Jessica had conveniently pointed out for everyone. Adam wished he could drop dead when he saw the blood rush to her face and tears blur her eyes.

Ajay slapped her forehead in embarrassment. After several painstaking moments the whispers began.

Adam kept his eyes on Aiden to tell her he was sorry, to convey to her somehow, how awful he felt. His temper flared when he saw Alex grip her upper arm tightly and escort her to a side room.

"_Fuck_." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

_**Dang Gina! They got outed BIG TIME! Review and let me know what you think Alex's reaction is going to be :) **_

**_xoxo_**


	12. Valentine's Day Massacre: Part 2

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and TJ Sparkles for reviewing and "betaing"...lol**_

* * *

As soon as the pair disappeared he felt all eyes shift to him. He defiantly met them with his intense gaze as well. He felt like he was in a fishbowl, like the walls were closing in around him.

"Why does everybody have a fucking staring problem?" he growled.

"Adam, don't make a scene, you'll only upset her more." Ajay begged pacing a hand on his arm.

He tried to ignore the feeling of being watched, to ignore the hushed voices but they were driving him insane. He pulled at his cuff links, fidgeted with his tie. He kept his eyes on the door that Alex and Aiden had gone through, his stomach in knots.

* * *

"Alex, you're hurting me." Aiden pleaded, trying to keep up with his dangerous strides.

Once they were alone he let her go. Aiden busied herself with changing Lexie's diaper, not wanting to argue with Alex at all.

"Is it true?" he finally confronted her, "Have you been sleeping with Adam?"

Aiden put Lexie on her hip and stared at her husband.

"Yes." she said quietly.

"You've had him around our daughter?" Alex fumed.

"No. He comes over to Ajay's very rarely, he's never spent any time with just Lexie and I." she assured.

"No, he likes to be all alone with just you I'm sure." he said sarcastically, "I can't believe you invited him here."

Aiden was stunned, "Me? You're the one that brought a date."

"He's not yours?" Alex asked.

"No, he's not." she snapped.

"So he just showed up to fuck you after the party then huh?" he spat.

Aiden was furious, and she hated herself for crying but she couldn't help it. That emotion was directly linked to her tear ducts.

"He showed up to support me because I didn't know how you were going to act." she cried.

Alex laughed then, "I've known Adam a lot longer than you have, and he doesn't do anything without something in return."

She gestured sarcastically then, "And so what if he did just come here for that? It's not like you're not doing the same thing. What's the difference?"

"Does he know we're still married?" he questioned.

"Does Lacey? Can she even _spell_ it?" Aiden insulted.

"This is bullshit Aiden. I can't believe you would do something like this." he muttered.

"Really Alex? That's cute, shifting the blame to me like this is all my fault." she said narrowing her eyes, "I know why you're mad though and it's pathetic."

He glared at her and crossed his arms, "Oh really, do tell."

"You're mad because you thought I was going to sit around at the house and mope around until you got done with the wild hair up your ass. You thought I would be back by now working our problems out." she laid out her theory for him, "And you never in a million years would have thought that not only would I still be gone, but that I would find someone else. You're not irreplaceable Alex, just the opposite in fact. You're just as disposable as I am.

His chest was rising and falling heavily, "You were right to be worried. You expected me to act like an ass, so I'm going to."

Aiden shrugged her shoulders, "I don't care what you do Alex, I really don't. Just leave our daughter out of it is all I ask."

He growled, "No problem. Sorry I made the mistake of thinking we could be together again."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she cried.

"The entire time I was spilling my heart out to you, you didn't say one word about fucking Adam behind my back." he shouted.

Lexie cowered into Aiden and whimpered.

"Just go be with all of your whores Alex and leave me alone. You're a hypocritical son of a bitch you know that?" she hissed.

He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room before he really lost his temper. Aiden went to the mirror to fix her make up. She had perfected her "Steel Magnolia" persona and called upon it now to make it through the rest of the party. She would go back out there and ignore all of the gossip that was going to swirl around her.

She hadn't even known Adam was there, and then to be brought out like _that_. She would salvage her daughter's birthday if it killed her.

"Aiden, are you alright?" Ajay called poking her head in the room.

Aiden steeled her jaw, "Yes, I just needed to change her."

Ajay frowned, "Did you want to talk?"

She couldn't even tell that she had even been upset.

"No, thank you though. We need to go ahead and cut the cake and open presents." Aiden smiled, her façade never faltering.

* * *

She went back out into the ballroom and motioned for Alex to join her over at the cake to sing Happy Birthday. He threw back his fifth shot and kissed Lacey before making his way over.

Aiden put Lexie in her high chair and put a bib on her as everyone gathered around. When everyone began singing Lexie's lower lip poked out and tears began to well up in her eyes. She lifted her arms up to Aiden who picked her up and continued singing. Lexie buried her face into Aiden's neck to avoid everyone's stares.

Alex held a piece of cake in front of her expecting her to dig in. She blinked at him, not moving. He got some icing on his finger and dabbed some onto Lexie's nose. She kept trying to look at the end of her nose and finally brought her hand up to swipe the icing off getting the red substance on her tiny palm. As soon as she saw she was 'dirty' she let out a wail and the tears began to fall as she thrust her hand at her mother for help. The crowd aww'd as Aiden got a napkin to wipe her off with.

"Don't eat it honey, it's got too many carbs!" one of Aiden's friends shouted making everyone laugh.

* * *

After opening the presents Lexie passed out and Aiden was able to mingle more. She saw that Alex had been permanently attached to the bar for well over an hour. She was fixing herself a plate to finally sit down and eat when Adam approached her.

"Hi." he said solemnly.

"Hey." she replied.

"I uhh, got these for you." he said with a tilt of his head bringing the bouquet from behind his back.

"Thank you." she smiled bringing them to her nose.

"I'm really sorry about earlier. Jess caught onto me and she of course had been drinking sooo…" he apologized.

"Adam, you don't have to do that. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed by being with you. I was shocked it was blurted out, but that wasn't really your fault. I just hate that it might have messed up your game, you know if you saw a girl you were attracted to or whatever." she grinned.

"What other girls? I haven't noticed any other girl but you. I came here for you and Lexie." he told her.

"So how did Jessica catch onto you anyways?" Aiden pressed putting a chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth.

Adam watched her lips close around the fruit remembering the last time she'd eaten them after they had just finished having sex and they were both tangled in blankets and one another's arms in the backseat of his rented Hummer.

He broke out of his trance seeing the twinkle in her eye. She was purposely teasing him.

"I may or may not have been a little jealous about Alex being all over you." he admitted with a wicked grin.

She sipped her champagne, "Jealous of my husband huh? Even when I'm going home with you?"

Adam ran his tongue along his teeth, "How'd I get so lucky?

"Maybe it's that rock star attitude or that sexy body." she suggested.

He took her wrist and brought her hand to his mouth. She fed him the petit fors that she was holding. He sucked on her finger before pulling her to him and leaning down for a kiss. She couldn't help but smile when their lips met. He framed her face, reveling in the sensation of kissing her in public for the first time.

He pulled away reluctantly, "I'm ready to go when you are."

She smiled, "You look nice by the way. I can't wait to take that suit off of you."

He bent and captured her neck with his mouth, "You're killing me here baby."

She giggled softly into his ear.

* * *

"So they really are together?" Bailey marveled at Aiden and Adams flirtatious exchange.

"They're not dating or anything…they just kind of ended up together." Ajay sighed.

She had to admit they were very cute together.

"I can't believe you're okay with it as close as you and Aiden are and knowing first hand how big of a flake Adam can be." Tessa said crossing her arms.

"They're both adults. He knows there are consequences if he hurts her." Chris spoke up.

"How did they go so wrong though?" Bailey motioned between Alex and Aiden, "After she had the baby I thought they would always be together."

Mollie shrugged indifferently, "It was only a matter of time in my opinion. They're just too different."

"No, Alex is a fucking conceited asshole to her. I'm glad she left him. He doesn't deserve her." Chris fired back.

"I see some things haven't changed. You still defend her to the death." Mollie laughed.

"And you're still a jealous bitch." he retorted.

"Chris…" Ajay groaned.

* * *

"Look at them over there. They're like fucking teenagers going at it." Alex mused darkly.

He was furious at Aiden and Adam's public display of affection.

No one had even looked his way, everyone was completely interested in the hot new couple in the corner. Lacey watched him in disinterest. Had she known she would be ditched and play second fiddle to Alex's wife all night she would have never agreed to come.

"They're not even dating, he's just her fuck buddy." he threw out there for added measure.

He did not expect it to hurt so bad to see her with another man. She was his, she belonged to him. Instead of wanting to make the problem better by adjusting his attitude, it took a turn for the worse.

"Go get Lexie. I'm ready to go." he said to Lacey.

She looked up at him warily, "No way. She told me not to go near her."

He looked at the statuesque blonde.

"She's my daughter too Lacey. I'm giving you permission to go and get her so we can leave."

She glanced over at Lexie who was asleep in her swing, "Alex…why don't you go get her?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'm going pull the car around so we don't have to walk in the snow. I'll be right back."

He kissed her cheek and gave her a nudge to get her going.

* * *

"The party was really great Aiden, you did a wonderful job." Traci complimented.

"Thank you." she smiled demurely.

Adam squeezed her hand under the table. He could still feel the tension his presence was causing but he was more than willing to endure it to be there for Aiden.

"So how long have the two of you been together?" Tessa asked, her cold eyes on Adam.

Aiden looked at him with a smile, "We're just friends, we aren't together."

"I _told_ her that already." he said with a glare at Tessa.

"So you don't care about Alex being here with Lacey?" Bailey questioned.

She was in awe that Aiden was taking the whole situation in stride.

"Not at all." she shrugged, "As long as she…"

All eyes went to Aiden's face as she trailed off and stopped mid sentence.

"What's wrong?" Chris questioned.

He had never seen Aiden's demeanor change so suddenly. She pushed away from the table and stormed across the room.

"Oh shit!" Ajay cursed handing Kenzie off to Chris as she went after Aiden.

She went right to Lacey who was holding Lexie in her arms, trying to get her back to sleep.

"Are you kidding me?" Aiden glared, "Give me my child right now."

Lacey wet her lips nervously, she _knew_ this would happen. She carefully handed the infant over and stood by to try and make amends.

"Shh…shh.." Aiden hushed going back to the swing and putting her daughter back in it. Lexie yawned and closed her eyes again as soon as she began swaying again. Aiden went back to Lacey, her whole body shaking with rage.

"Alex said that we were leaving and asked me to get Lexie for him because he's pulling the car around." Lacey explained thinking that would ease the situation.

"I don't give a **SHIT **what Alex said. I told _YOU_ **NOT** to touch my daughter." Aiden yelled, getting the remaining guests attention yet again.

Ajay rushed up, "Cookie, calm down, lets go sit down."

Aiden snatched her arm away, "NO! Stay out of this Ajay."

She stepped back, shocked by Aiden's anger.

"She's Alex's daughter too." Lacey blurted out, repeating her date's defense.

Aiden shoved Lacey back with more force than anyone expected, "I'm well aware of that, and the fact that you went back on your word that under no circumstances were you supposed to touch her."

Lacey looked up from where she had toppled to the ground, "You bitch"

She stood back up and towered over Aiden, "I was just doing what Alex asked me to do."

"Do I look like I care? If you want to go we can go." Aiden said taking off her earrings and tossing them on the table.

The room buzzed with excitement.

"Aiden, no don't." Ajay pleaded.

"Just shut up and let me handle this." Aiden ordered shrilly, pointing her finger at her friend.

Ajay was too stunned to argue.

Lacey laughed, she actually laughed, "Honey, I'm twice your size and professionally trained, I don't think that would work out so well for you in the long run."

"More like three times my size and your _'skill'_ is highly questionable, even I know that. So if you're ready to get that fake ass weave ripped out bring your ass on because I don't care how fucking big you are I'll still beat your ass!" she shouted shoving Lacey again.

Aiden's best friend and designer Benny stepped behind her taking off his earrings too, "And I'll help… your Amazon ass shoulda listened." he tisked.

"What the hell is going on here?" Alex asked shouldering his way through the crowd.

"She had **MY** daughter in her arms, taking her to leave." Aiden shouted.

"Because we are." he said stepping to her.

"Not with Lexie you're not." she said putting her foot down.

"I'm her father and if I want to take her home with me then I have every right to." he hissed.

Aiden shook her head, "No, not tonight. Not with that ditz hanging around."

Alex bulked up trying to intimidate her into standing down.

She was unphased, "You can puff your chest up all you want to, but I'll beat your ass just the same as hers. Lexie's not going anywhere with you so get it out of your head."

Adam came up behind Aiden then pulling her behind him, "There won't be any need for that, right Alex? You're not going to be the cause of a fight at your daughter's first birthday are you?"

Alex steeled his jaw standing toe to toe with Adam, weighing his options, "Lacey let's go."

She kept her feet firmly planted, "Not until she apologizes. I'm not a _ditz_."

She lifted her chin a notch as if to prove a point.

"Why don't you hold your breath till I give you that apology you bitch." Aiden shot back causing her friends to break out in applause and laughter when Lacey turned to leave with Alex.


	13. Come With Me

_**Since I haven't updated in awhile, I'll post another for you :) Enjoy and review si vous plait!**_

* * *

The rest of the night was spent gossiping about the fight and how well Aiden had handled everything.

"We're heading out Cookie, see you in a little bit." Ajay said giving her a hug.

"I'll be there after I'm done cleaning up." she said.

Adam pulled her into a hug, "Want me to wait on you?"

"No, go ahead." she said quietly.

He squeezed her hand and followed Ajay and Chris out the door.

"I would be careful if I were you." a female said quietly behind Aiden.

She turned around to see an unfamiliar face. She knew she was a part of the TNA group because she was with AJ.

"Of what?" Aiden asked watching the exotic beauty carefully.

"Of Adam." Tessa said.

"We're not together…" Aiden began again with her explanation of her and Adam's relationship.

Tessa raised her hand to stop her, "What you say and how you act are contradictive. He's a master manipulator and can charm the pants off of you literally. He's all smoke and mirrors and he likes to prey on innocent girls just like yourself. He's not looking to settle down or be holed up with just you no matter how special he makes you think you are to him. Just thought I would give you the warning that I wish I would have gotten."

Aiden was uneasy as she looked between the woman and AJ who was standing awkwardly a few feet away.

"How do you know all of this and why are you telling me?" Aiden asked.

She flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder, her ice blue eyes boring into Aiden, "Adam is my ex, we dated for awhile so I know all of the games and tricks he plays. Ajay is a good friend and I know how emotional she gets when Adam sucks her into his games. I know we don't know each other at all, but we do have Ajay in common and I just wanted to fill you in on Adam so both of you wouldn't have to go through what I did."

"Great party by the way. I think you could have taken her." She said with an air of annoyance.

With that Tessa linked arms with her boyfriend who looked all too relieved to be leaving. Aiden watched them go, the words of poison swirling in her head. Was it true? Surely Adam wasn't capable of burning someone bad enough that they would come up to a complete stranger just to warn them.

He had never done anything for her to question his intentions. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt, his past was his past. People could change right?

Aiden busied herself helping with the clean up despite the fact that she had hired a clean up crew to do it for her. She knew she was due for a break down because of tonight's happenings but wanted to postpone it for as long as possible. She finished cleaning up and drove home glancing back at Lexie who was still in her frilly party dress. It was almost two in the morning and she really hoped everyone was asleep.

She got Lexie inside and sat her car seat next to the couch. Aiden went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and sat down on the couch. The tears flowed almost immediately when she replayed everything that had happened tonight. She was so caught up in the moment of the fight, so caught up in all of her anger that she didn't even think about how embarrassed she would be after the fact.

When she looked at Lexie it broke her heart knowing how awful the relationship was between Alex and herself. She thought about how their actions would affect their daughter. How traumatic divorce and two separate households would be. It would be so confusing to her once she got older and all Aiden could do was cry about it. It would kill her to send her baby to Alex knowing, or rather _NOT_ knowing who was going to be around her.

She sat there and cried for almost an hour when she heard someone coming downstairs. She turned to see Adam come around the corner still in his suit.

"I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore." he said his voice still heavy with sleep, "What's wrong gorgeous?"

Aiden was still crying and staring at Lexie, "Do you think she'll remember how I screwed everything up tonight?"

"You didn't screw anything up." he assured putting his hand on her shoulder.

She blinked the tears away, "Yes I did. I acted like a fool. I never get confrontational like that."

He focused on her then, seeing how badly she was hurting and beating herself up over all of this.

"You were protecting your daughter. Nobody would ever blame you for that. They were just going to take her without telling you Aiden, it's kind of obvious why you reacted that way." he soothed.

She hiccupped, "I just want to forget the whole thing."

"Okay, we can do that." he agreed.

She looked at him then, "Make me forget? Please?"

He was confused, "What do you want me to do?"

She wet her lips as she leaned into him pressing her body into his, "Make love to me so I won't remember tonight. Just make me feel good, erase everything that happened."

She kissed him hungrily, her tongue darting into his mouth as she undid the buttons on his shirt. She splayed it open exposing his torso. She kissed and licked her way down his neck to the middle of his chest, to his navel. She started loosening his belt, tears still flowing.

Something in his brain told him to stop, "Hang on a second…"

She stilled, looking up at him with her auburn eyes.

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this right now. I mean your obviously very upset still." he pointed out.

"I don't want to wait. This is what I want." she argued with a sniffle.

She straddled him and kissed him deeply again.

"Don't you want me?" she whispered sadly in his ear.

He groaned, "You know I do baby, but this isn't what you need. This would just be a temporary solution and you might even regret it and I don't want that. I don't want to be your mistake."

She stilled and buried her face into his neck, "I feel so stupid Adam. I don't know what's wrong with me. And, and, we're not even dating or anything you shouldn't have to deal with me and all of my issues. I'm just so messed up right now."

He held her while she sobbed onto his shoulder, "You're not stupid and I told you I want to be here for you."

"That was before you knew about all of this though." she whimpered.

He sat her up and moved her hair away from her face, "You think I don't have baggage of my own? Let me help you, even just for tonight okay? Let me take care of you and make you feel good another way."

Her lower lip trembled and she averted her eyes, "This isn't how we planned things to go…we were just supposed to have sex, no strings attached."

He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers, "I break all the rules baby. If you're worried about being emotional in front of me, don't be. I like that you're expressive. I don't have to guess about what kind of mood you're in."

She scrunched her nose, "Are you sure?"

He smiled, "Absolutely. Take Lexie upstairs and change into nothing but your robe okay?"

She deliberated for a moment before she stood up and went upstairs.

Now came the hard part…waking Ajay up to ask her for a favor. He put his ear to Chris and jay's bedroom door, before knocking softly. He opened it up slowly letting the hallway light spill in. He tiptoed to his sister who was asleep on her side with Chris sprawled out beside her.

"Ajay." he whispered shaking her a bit.

Chris stirred and sat up.

"What's wrong?" he mumbled.

"I was wondering if Aiden and I could borrow the Jacuzzi tub. She's stressed to the max and I think a long hot bubble bath would help her."

"What the hell?" Ajay griped waking up too, "Somebody better be dead."

"Chill out. Can Aiden and I borrow the tub for a little while?" he asked again.

Ajay narrowed her eyes at him, "Fine, but pinky promise that you won't have sex in it."

He locked pinkies with her, "Thanks."

He went back to Aiden's room after filing the tub with aromatic bubbles and salts. He lit some candles too because he had seen that in a lot of movies. She was lying out on her bed in the dark in her black silk bathrobe. He picked up the baby monitor from her nightstand and put it in his back pocket. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into Chris and Ajay's bathroom. He closed the door with his foot and put her down in front of the tub.

He kissed her neck just below her ear, "I want you to relax and not think about anything, okay?"

She nodded slowly. He steeled his restraint and let his hands slide down to her midsection and undo the knot. The silk whispered softly as it fell open. His fingertips grazed her warm skin as he pulled the robe open for her to step out of. She gracefully stepped into the tub and reclined back.

"You got the water just right." she breathed deeply.

"Good." he said dimming the lights and taking off his pants.

He stepped in behind her and sat on the ledge of the tub. He began kneading Aiden's shoulders methodically as he tried to think of a more permanent solution for Aiden's' situation.

That's when it came to him, "Come with me on the road."

She laughed, "I have Lexie, I can't do that."

"I meant her too." Adam stated finally looking at her, "Both of you come with me on the road and travel some. Get away from the drama for a little while."

She laughed again, "Adam, we would totally cramp your style."

He rolled his eyes, "I want you there, both of you that way I don't have to worry about Alex being a douche while I'm gone, because you'll be with me."

Aiden was skeptical to say the least, "I don't know if I want to take Lexie out and have her travel everywhere. That would be kind of difficult wouldn't it? Late nights, early flights, different cities every night. That's not really the best environment for a baby."

"A lot of guys bring their kids on the road for some of the shows. We could try it for a week and see how it goes. If you don't like it or its not working with Lexie you can come home." he said.

"Adam have you ever roomed with a baby before? She's good for the most part, but she does have her moments. There are diapers, toys, playpens, car seats, then of course all of my shoes, make up…_tampons_, you don't want to be around that. Why don't we keep it simple and stick to just having sex?"

He snorted a little bit, "I've factored all of that into making my decision to ask you and Lexie to come with me."

"But…" Aiden tried.

He stopped his massage and stepped over her to lean down eye level with her his strong tattooed arms on either side of her.

"I don't like not getting to see you and your daughter when I want to. Sorry, but I'm accustomed to getting what I want and I honestly would be a lot more at ease if you and her were with me. If anything happened while I was away it would kill me to not be able to get to you."

She tilted her head, "So you, me and baby makes three?"

He nodded.

"What will your friends and co-workers think though?"

"I don't really give a shit about their opinion of me and who I'm involved with, to be honest. All I care about is if you and Lexie are happy and taken care of." he leaned forward to gently kiss her.

She was debating his proposition; Tessa's warning still fresh in her mind, "You don't have to worry about us. I don't want you to think you have to do that."

"Listen I know this was just about the sex…it still is, but I can't just leave you here with Alex still trying to stir shit up with you. Ajay told me you used to jet set everywhere when you were still working, don't you miss that? Wouldn't it be fun to go new places and take Lexie to see new things or even go to old places and show me and her around?" he asked.

His enthusiasm about the subject made her smile.

She sighed, "You drive a hard bargain."

"I want to get to know you better, and for you to get to know me better too." he added.

"What about Alex?" she questioned with a frown.

"Shoot him a text when we get back to your room and tell him you need to talk to him in the morning." he planned.

"I do need to get some more stuff from the house." she mused.

His eyes lit up, "So you're going?"

"Let's see what Alex says first." she said.

He smiled his million watt smile at her, "We're going to have the best time, you're gonna love it."

She kissed him again before he resumed his position behind her to start his massage again.

* * *

The next morning Adam brought Lexie downstairs to feed her so Aiden could continue packing.

"What does she eat? I don't know how to do this." he asked Chris and Ajay who were sitting at the table with Kenzie and Joey.

Chris got up and took Lexie from Adam and sat her in her high chair and then went to make her some breakfast.

As he stirred some oatmeal he felt Adam lurking over his shoulder, "What?"

Adam shook his head, "Nothing just seeing how to do it."

"_Why_?" Chris asked puzzled.

"Just in case I have to do it and nobody's there to help me." he answered.

"When would you make Lexie breakfast?" Ajay laughed.

Now was the best time to tell them so he blurted it out, "Aiden's coming with me."

He regretted telling them like that almost immediately, when he saw tears well up in Ajay's eyes and she took off upstairs.

Chris shook his head in frustration handing Adam the bowl of oatmeal and bananas, "Way to go, now Ajay's gonna be all pissed off."

Adam sat down in front of Lexie who was studying him with her big brown eyes. They sat staring at each other for several moments until Chris leaned over and handed him a spoon.

"Thanks." he said as he scooped up some oatmeal.

"Smaller spoonful. She hates getting messy and will scream if she gets too much on her face." Chris instructed sliding him a napkin to be ready to wipe Lexie's mouth.

Adam emptied half of the spoonful and brought it to Lexie's mouth. She watched him intently not used to him feeding her. She took the first bite and Adam sighed in relief when she opened her mouth for more, her tiny hands reaching out to the bowl.

"She's a little pushy sometimes." Chris commented, still watching Adam closely.

It bothered him to see Adam being involved in Lexie's morning routine.

Like _really_ bothered him.

He knew it was because of Joey. He pushed back the anger and continued watching him with his goddaughter.

* * *

Ajay burst into Aiden's room.

She jumped when the door slammed open, "Ajay, you scared me to death!"

Ajay's bottom lip was trembling, "Are you really going with Adam?"

"Yes." Aiden said slowly.

Ajay broke down, "Why?"

Aiden went to her and hugged her tightly, "I just need to get away from here for a little while after last night. I want to go and do stuff and enjoy myself instead of sitting here and moping around about how messed up my life is right now."

Ajay was crying harder, "But I don't want you to leave me."

Aiden rubbed her back trying to comfort her, "I'll be back Ajay. This isn't permanent. I just wanted to give it a try, so I took him up on his offer."

Ajay pulled away then, "_Adam _suggested this?"

"Yeah…" Aiden nodded.

Ajay stormed back downstairs and back into the kitchen and slapped Adam on the back of his head.

"What was that for?' he growled through his teeth.

"Why are you taking Cookie and my baby away from me?" she cried.

"So she could get away from the drama for a little bit. It would be good for them both." he said slowly.

"Well I don't like it." Ajay pouted, "You don't know how to take care of them."

"I'll learn." he snapped back, "It was her decision and I would really appreciate it if you didn't throw another tantrum to get your way and make her change her mind about going."

"Chris!" Ajay whined looking to him for some support.

He shrugged his shoulders, there was nothing he could do about it. Ajay stomped upstairs in a huff.

Adam shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "Damn brat."

Aiden went to finish packing knowing that Ajay needed her freak out moment to herself before she calmed down and accepted Aiden's decision.

* * *

An hour later they were all sitting downstairs when Ajay came back down. Her eyes were puffy and she was sniffling.

"You better not let anything happen to either one of them." she threatened.

"I know." he said kissing Aiden's temple.

"And if you don't know what to do with Lexie you better go to Aiden or call me or Chris." she said.

"I _know_." he said.

"And Aiden, you are to call me at the very least twice a day, no exceptions." she ordered wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"I promise." she smiled.

"I'll drive you to the airport when you're ready to go." Ajay offered.

"Actually I'm going to go my house to try and explain this to Alex first." Aiden said with a groan, "I'm not looking forward to that at all."

"Then I'll go, Ajay you stay here with the kids." Chris said standing up.

"Absolutely not. There's no way I'm not going." she argued.

"What if Alex starts his shit? Adam can't defend you, Aiden, and Lexie. It makes more sense for me to go." Chris explained.

"No, I can handle myself thank you very much." Ajay said stubbornly.

Chris rolled his eyes and left the room.

"Let's go, he'll get over it." Ajay said with a huff.

They all grabbed their coats and headed to the garage. Aiden closed her eyes trying to find her happy place before she went into the house. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.

"Are you ready?" Adam asked breaking the silence.

Aiden opened her eyes and nodded despite being anything but.


	14. Mommy vs Daddy

_**Ahh...what the hell! Make it 3 chapters in a day! **_

**_Thanks to Kennedy and Alice Jericho for reviewing! _**

* * *

Ajay got Lexie out of her car seat and followed behind Adam and Aiden to the front door. Aiden gritted her teeth when Mollie answered the door.

"Good morning." she greeted.

Aiden moved past her without a word and went into the house. Alex was sitting on the couch looking irate already.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, his voice monotone.

She stayed still and silent preparing herself for the worst.

"I'm going out of town for a little while." she began.

Alex didn't react, "Okay."

"I'm taking Lexie with me." she added.

"Oh no you're not." Mollie said slinking past her to sit on the couch beside Alex.

"This really has nothing to do with you Mollie." Aiden grated out.

She raised her index finger, "Ahhh…but you're wrong. I'm Alex's attorney therefore it does."

"Because _that's_ not a conflict of interest." she remarked sarcastically.

"Lexie can stay here while you go out of town. She'll be with her father, it really shouldn't be like this. You shouldn't keep his child from him Aiden, and if you take off we'll have no choice but to assume she's been kidnapped by you and will have to file the necessary paperwork for an emergency custody hearing to grant Alex full custody and put out an alert for your immediate arrest and return of his daughter." she said with an evil smile.

"You wouldn't dare do that." Ajay remarked.

"C'mon, what if Chris came up and told you he was leaving and taking your kids wouldn't you do the same thing?" she asked, "Alex only wants what's best for his daughter.."

Adam stepped up then, "Listen, if you're pissed about us being together take it out on me, don't take Lexie away from her mother."

"It's entirely up to her how this is going to go down." Mollie replied.

Aiden ignored everyone and looked directly at Alex, "Is this the way you want things to be? Think before you answer please, because your answer will determine my actions."

"You're not taking my daughter ." he said, the malice in his voice clearly evident.

"I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but you've left me no choice." Aiden sighed pulling out her phone.

"Hello Aiden, how are you doing honey?" a stern voice answered on the other end.

"Well not so good you remember that issue we discussed?" she said.

"Put me on speaker honey." the man said.

"You're on." Aiden said.

"Hello everyone. I'm assuming Mr. Martin and Miss Jarrett are present." he asked.

"Yes, may we ask who is speaking?" Mollie returned going into full on lawyer mode.

"Certainly, this is Sonny Keyes, Mrs. Martin's attorney." he answered.

Mollie's jaw immediately dropped when she heard the name.

Sonny laughed on the other line, "You're in over your head now little missy. Any kind of threats you just made against my client you can forget. You've given me enough rope to hang both of you with from my research. The judge wouldn't even have to debate if you're stupid enough to not take my advice and let this go."

"Mr. Keyes, surely you can understand where my client is coming from. He hasn't seen his daughter hardly at all and fears that Mrs. Martin is being careless by disregarding the welfare…" Mollie laid out but was interrupted.

"You can stop right there. Phone records indicate no initiation to attempt to spend time with his daughter, he hasn't contacted Aiden not once to discuss visitation which indicates she really is not a priority of his. They do however show several calls to various irrefutable places. Mr. Martin has also been witnessed under the influence of several legal and illegal substances. He has been mentally and physically abusive to Mrs. Martin and their daughter, not to mention the little case of conflict of interest on your part which could have you disbarred so fast your head would spin, shall I continue to bury your pathetic excuse of a case or have I proven my point?" he remarked.

Alex looked dumbstruck and pissed.

"We don't have a case Alex." Mollie whispered.

She had known all along, but was willing to go to battle for him and call Aiden's bluff. She hadn't expected "Glenda the Good Witch" to come out with her guns drawn.

"What do you mean? You said we did!" he hissed furiously.

She was frustrated and totally overwhelmed, "He will literally tear us apart. He's never lost a case…ever, and he's a defense lawyer for goodness sake."

"I'm glad my reputation precedes me." Sonny snickered, "How would you like to proceed Mr. Martin? Should I continue with my brunch or book a flight up there and wipe the floor with you both?"

Mollie hesitated a half of a second, "That won't be necessary for now."

"Very well then. I look forward to ending your career whenever you're ready Miss Jarrett. Aiden, call me any time." Sonny said.

"Thank you." Aiden replied ending the phone call.

"I didn't think you had it in you. Bravo bitch." Mollie sneered.

"The quicker you learn that I will do anything for my daughter the better off everything will be. I don't care how dirty I have to fight to keep her with me." Aiden dismissed, "I need to get a few things and we'll be out of your way."

"Can I at least hold her while you're getting your stuff?" Alex asked quietly.

Aiden nodded to Ajay who reluctantly handed Lexie over. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Adam and Alex hated each other for obvious reasons while Ajay and Mollie found themselves on opposite sides of the playing field yet again.

Alex was letting Lexie stand on his legs, his eyes were clouded with tears as he watched her bounce happily. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He handed her over to Mollie and went upstairs.

Adam flinched when he heard Alex began to yell. Ajay touched his arm, a silent signal to stay put. He ran a hand through his tousled mane trying to remain calm. Nothing could be heard over Alex's voice. He was screaming about out the party, Aiden's poor choices, how it wasn't fair that he couldn't keep Lexie while she was gone, anything he could think of to insult her. She came back downstairs with a large suitcase.

"Ready to go?" she asked ignoring Alex who was still shouting at her.

Adam was in serious danger of losing his temper and decking Alex in that smart mouth of his to shut him the fuck up. Aiden took Lexie from Mollie and headed to the door.

"Wait Aiden, please." Alex begged.

She stopped at the door turning to face him.

"I'm sorry, just, can I tell her goodbye?" he pleaded.

He bent to kiss Lexie's cheeks several times.

"Daddy loves you okay? Be a good girl…" he said biting back tears.

"We've got to go." Aiden said pulling away from him.

"If I call you will you let me talk to her?" he choked out.

"**_If_** you call." she said walking out to the car.

Ajay and Adam followed glaring at them. They got into the car and were almost to the airport before anyone spoke.

"Aiden are you okay?' Ajay asked turning to look in the back seat.

She nodded grateful her oversized sunglasses could hide her face. She hated seeing Alex like that, but he really had left her with no choice. They checked their bags into the terminal and said their goodbyes at the gate before boarding. Ajay surprisingly held it together fairly well shedding minimal tears.

Once on board the plane, Adam didn't interrupt Aiden's silence. He was content just being by her side. Being married twice had taught him a few rules about the female psyche. When they talk...shut up and listen, when they don't…shut up and listen. After the in flight movie ended, Aiden finally spoke.

"Sorry for being like this." she said gently smoothing Lexie's dark hair.

"No big deal. I understand." he shrugged.

"I just don't want to talk about it." she sighed.

He bumped her shoulder lightly, "I won't make you. What I want doesn't require a whole lot of talking anyways."

Aiden laughed under her breath, "That's always a good remedy."

He covered her hand with his, "We're getting away from all that remember? Just try not to think about it."

She nodded.

* * *

They got to the hotel and Aiden put Lexie down for her nap with no trouble because she had stayed awake the entire trip. Adam unzipped her dress from behind and pulled it off of her body. He slowly kissed the back of her neck as he undid her bra.

"I've wanted you since last night." he whispered covering her breasts with his hands.

She closed her eyes and melted into him, "I know the feeling."

He bent to kiss her ear, "Are you going to be able to be quiet so you don't wake her up?'

"I don't know. You are very good at what you do." she teased letting him throw her back on the bed.

When they were finished he stretched out with her collapsed on his chest. They were breathing heavily, covered in a sheen of sweat.

"That was pretty intense." she said.

"I kind of like the thrill of being all secretive." he said leaning over to check his phone, "Shit, I've got to take a shower and get to the show. Are you coming?"

She rolled off of him, "No, Lexie seems a little jet lagged and seemed like she had a fever."

"Are you going to watch?" he asked.

She winced and scrunched her nose.

He laughed then, "We'll work up to it then."

He got out of bed and went to the shower. She laid on her back staring at the ceiling still a little upset about seeing Alex so emotional about her leaving with Lexie. Adam definitely did make things better though. She turned her head to the side to see Lexie still sleeping peacefully. Adam came out of the shower moments later in nothing but a towel. Aiden watched him change into his laid back surf meets rock attire.

"Did you want me to bring you something back to eat?" he asked getting back in bed and straddling her.

"No, we'll be fine thank you." she smiled.

"If you need anything just let me know." he kissed her sensually, "I gotta stop or I really will be late."

She laughed and waved as he looked back into the room a final time before he left. She rolled over again to catch a nap before Lexie woke up.

* * *

After the show Adam was beat. He took an RKO wrong and had tweaked his back, not to mention the fact that he had gotten barely any sleep in the past two days. He would catch a few hours tonight and then more on the plane since they had an early flight. He was almost literally dragging when the was making his way down the hall to his room. He could hear Lexie crying faintly down the hall.

_Great._

He opened the door and saw Aiden rocking Lexie on the bed. She looked pretty frazzled.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked dropping his bag beside the door.

"She's teething and is not exactly happy about it." she said with a sigh, "She's been crying non stop for an hour"

Adam rummaged through this suitcase to find something to wear tomorrow so he wouldn't have to worry about it. Once he had that laid out he put his clothes into the suitcase and stacked them neatly beside the door. After brushing his teeth he crawled beneath the covers and flipped through the channels. Aiden got up to walk around the room with Lexie hoping maybe that would calm her down. After another thirty minutes Adam had had enough.

"Aiden, seriously can you shut her the hell up please?" he shouted over Lexie's exhausted screams.

Aiden was caught off guard by his sudden anger. Tears welled up a she put on her stilettos, grabbed her phone and key and left the room. He rolled onto his side and cut the lights out.

She went to the elevator, silently willing it to hurry up. Lexie rubbed her face into her mother's shoulder in anguish. She was so tired, yet was fighting it with everything she had. The doors opened and she could have sprinted back down the hall she was so embarrassed by who was inside.

"Aiden?" Jay asked, his face lighting up, "What's up? What happened to the Princess?"

"What happened to both of them? What are you crying for?" Jericho asked as Jay took Lexie from her.

"It's a long story." she said looking down at the floor.

"That's good because we were going to the bar." Jay said, "Is she teething?"

Aiden nodded.

"I've got just the thing, go find a seat, I'll be right back."

"Did you want a drink?" Chris asked.

"No, I'm fine." she declined.

Jay came back with Lexie who was happily chewing on a frozen waffle.

"Where did you learn that from?" Aiden asked thoroughly impressed as she settled Lexie into her arms.

"Old Canadian trick." Chris joked.

"So what are you doing here?" Jay asked.

"Adam invited us to come." she informed.

"Yeah right. What are you doing here for real?" Chris laughed, he didn't know Adam and Aiden had been seeing each other.

"That is for real." she said.

"You and Adam fricking Copeland? Are you kidding me? He's dating you? You're dating him?" Chris exclaimed.

"No we're not _dating_." she groaned.

She was going to get it tattooed on her forehead if she had to.

"But he's tapping that ass right?" he continued.

"Who even says that?" Aiden asked.

"Is he good? Different positions and stuff, does he make you go?" Chris hammered off.

Aiden's jaw dropped open.

"I just want to make sure he's representing Canada in the right way. That's how stereotypes start. If he sucks in bed, then that could lead to all Canadians sucking in bed…see how that happens?" he explained his logic.

Aiden shook her head, "He's great in bed if you must know."

Chris let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay so now that Jerky had done his duty for our country, what were you crying about?" Jay asked.

"I don't think he thought it through asking me to come on the road with him with a baby. She was crying and I was trying to get her stop, but he yelled at me, so I left." she said.

Jay bit back his temper, "It was just bad timing sweetheart. He's tired and sore, but you can't help if the baby is inconsolable."

Chris chimed in, "He's never been around kids before, he doesn't understand the concept of teething. That doesn't give him the right to take it out on you, but it is an explanation."

"I don't know, maybe I should just go back home. I don't want to be an inconvenience to him." she said rocking Lexie gently.

She was almost back to sleep.

"Him asking you to come with him, with a baby is major." Chris pointed out, "Give him a chance. If he does something you don't like take off, but at leas let him try. This is really a big step fro him."

Jay had to agree, "He's been on the road for a long time. He has his routine and that's all he knows. He just needs to adjust. If he hasn't apologized by in the morning you better come find me or call me though okay?"

She nodded. What the hell did she know about being on the road and the effect it had on a person.

"She's out." Jay smiled

"She's really cute too by the way." Chris added.

"Thank you for your advice and compliment. I'm going to get her back up to bed. Goodnight." she said making her exit.

"Night." They said in unison.

Chris turned to Jay with a look of sadness, "Adam is fucking lucky."

"That we didn't call Ajay , _I know_." Jay said.

Chris laughed, "Yeah…not what I meant."


	15. Not Again

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and baby for their reviews! Continue reading si vous plait!**_

* * *

Aiden got up to the room and maneuvered in the dark. She put Lexie down and stripped down to her underwear before she carefully slipped into bed beside him. She faced the crib to watch her daughter. Her eyelids were getting heavy when she felt Adam scoot closer to her and wrap an arm around her waist. She stayed perfectly still not wanting to wake him if he was still asleep.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, turning her face to look back at him.

She nodded, letting him kiss her before she rolled back over.

The next morning she was woken up by Adam gently shaking her, "I'm going down to the gym, okay?"

"Okay." she mumbled.

She glanced at the clock realizing she didn't have to get up to get ready for another hour. She leaned up far enough to see that Lexie was awake and entertaining herself with a stuffed animal. She laid back down and dozed off for another couple of minutes. She heard a knock on the door and slowly got out of bed to put her robe on. She smiled as she looked through the peep hole and opened the door.

"Where would you like this?" the man asked as he wheeled in a tray of covered dishes and two pink roses.

"Anywhere is fine." she smiled picking up Lexie who was jumping in her crib excitedly.

After he left Aiden went to the cart and opened the envelope attached.

"_Sorry for being a dick last night. I hope you accept this as part of my apology, you can get the other part any time you want it. XAdamX_"

She smiled to herself, stopping Lexie from touching the hot plates. They sat in the middle of the bed enjoying their breakfast. Aiden was just zipping their suitcase when Adam returned. He was hesitant, nervous even as he came into the room.

"Was the food okay?" he asked wiping at his face with a towel.

She nodded, "We saved you some."

"Thanks. I'm really sorry.." he said.

She raised a hand to silence him and walked to him.

She pulled him down to her level and kissed him deeply.

"Its over with now. I accept your apology. Both parts." she winked at him coyly, "You better hop in the shower so we can leave."

His eyes were dancing knowing they were going to have their first ever make up sex session later. They still had so many firsts to get through. He smiled as he disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

After the first week of Lexie and Aiden being on the road with Adam they flew back to Detroit. Ajay bum rushed Aiden squeezing the life out of her in a tight hug.

"I missed you so much!" she exclaimed.

"We missed you too but you're killing me right now honey." Aiden said.

"Sorry come in and tell me all about it." she urged.

Adam pulled Lexie from her car seat and followed them inside.

"How was everything? Did you have fun?" Ajay asked excitedly.

"Yeah, it was fun getting to go and see new places and different cities. Adam took very good care of us." she said patting his thigh.

Chris closed his eyes and covered his ears, "I don't' want to hear about that."

They recanted their trip to Ajay, even though she had already heard it while they fixed dinner.

When they sat down to eat, Aiden's phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, its Alex, can we talk?' he asked.

"Okay." she said.

"Will you come outside?" he questioned.

She dropped her fork then. Everyone turned to her, narrowing their eyes.

"What is it?" Adam mouthed.

She took her napkin from her lap and slowly went to the front door. Adam followed her wondering why she hadn't answered him. He got his answer when she opened the door. Alex stood there with the phone between his ear and his shoulder, huddled down in his leather jacket.

Adam's stare turned deadly as he looked at the younger man, "You've got to be kidding me."

Aiden turned to him with a look, begging him to let her handle the situation.

"It's okay. Just let me talk to him for a minute." she pleaded.

"I'll be right here if you need me." he growled taking a few steps away from the door as she stepped outside and closed it.

"How did you know we were home?" she began.

"I've been driving by everyday waiting for you to come back." he answered.

It didn't sound like a lie. She crossed her arms waiting.

"When you left and took Lexie with you it killed me. I haven't been a normal human being since you left. I need her, if I can't have you." he said.

"So what are you saying?" she asked.

"Please will you let her stay with me until you leave again. Please Aiden." he begged.

She was already shaking her head, "How will I know what kind of idiot girls you'll have around her or if there are drugs in the house and if you're doing any of them, how will I know all of that?"

"I know I've been an idiot, but not having both of you has put a lot into perspective. Please, if you want to stay at the house, you're more than welcome to, whatever it takes to spend some time with my daughter."

Aiden was staring off into the distance trying to weigh her options.

"Mollie offered to stay too. You know how much she loves Lexie. Would that make you feel better?' he asked hopefully.

"Not really, to be honest with you." she snapped.

"Aiden, I'll do whatever you want. If you want me to call you every hour I will, I'll send pictures every thirty minutes, I'll do anything." he said, "It's fair isn't it? You've had her all week, can't I at least have her for tonight and half the day tomorrow?"

"She's teething and has been really cranky lately." Aiden warned.

"I can handle it." he assured her.

She was sick with guilt and worry, "What time will you have her back tomorrow?"

His face lit up, "By noon, is that okay?"

She stared at him before she nodded, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't have her around any girls."

"You have her around Adam, I don't say anything about that." he said.

"Adam doesn't mother our child. Whatever girl will more than likely want to play Mommy to Lexie and it will confuse her and drive me crazy so just please don't."

"Okay." he nodded, deciding to let it go, "Is she ready to go?"

"I have to pack her a bag. It will just be a minute." she said.

He cupped her face gently and pressed his lips to hers, "Thank you Aiden this means a lot. Why don't I pack her bag that way you can tell her good night and stuff."

Aiden bit back her tears, "Okay, just make sure you get her blanket and her bunny."

Alex smiled as he opened the door for her. Adam stopped pacing by the door when they both came in.

He went to her, taking her shoulders into his hands, "Are you okay?"

She gave him a tight nod as Alex went upstairs. She went back into the dining room to get Lexie.

"What's going on?" Ajay asked.

Aiden picked Lexie up from her high chair, "Alex is taking her for the night."

A collective gasp went through the room.

"Is that a good idea?" Chris asked cautiously.

Aiden shrugged her slim shoulders, "I have to be fair to him. She's his daughter too."

She was crumbling inside fast. She didn't want Lexie to go, she'd never spent a night away from her daughter in her entire life. This was going to kill her. They all watched her noticing the death grip she had on her child. Lexie began to whimper some as she laid her head onto Aiden's shoulder. She was tired, she knew because she hadn't taken her nap and it was finally catching up to her. She went back into the living room where Alex was waiting.

"Mommy loves you so much. Be a good girl for Daddy. I'll see you tomorrow." she whispered.

Lexie started wailing and struggling when she felt someone try to take her away from Aiden. Her chubby little fingers grasped her dress tightly.

"Mama!" she cried desperately trying to hold onto her.

"It's okay sweetheart, go with Daddy." she tried to assure her.

When Alex had her in his arms, having finally pried her off of Aiden, Lexie lost it. She screamed and reached out to her mother.

Alex kissed Aiden's cheek, "She'll be okay. We'll see you tomorrow."

He turned to go to his car. Lexie struggled in his arms screaming 'Mama' all the way to the car. Aiden went to the door to watch them leave. When the car disappeared around the corner she broke down in fits of sobs. Ajay went to her and hugged her tightly. Chris took Joey and Kenzie upstairs for a bath before their bed time. He couldn't stand to watch Aiden cry.

She was crying hysterically on Ajay's shoulder making her worry.

"Cookie, take deep breaths, you're scaring me." she urged rubbing her back.

Aiden let out a low tortured howl. Her daughter was sad and confused and there was nothing she could do about it. Ajay looked at Adam who was at a loss for what to do or say. When Aiden began to struggle a bit to breathe Ajay pulled her into the kitchen and rummaged through Aiden's purse for her pills. She handed them to Aiden with a bottle of water and forced her to take them.

"What were those?" Adam asked reaching for the bottle.

Ajay snatched it away and stuffed them back into Aiden's purse. She led her back into the living room to hold her on the couch while she cried. Adam continued to stand by awkwardly. He was trying desperately to come up with a solution for the poor girl. He ran his hands through his hair and shoved them into his pockets. Every sob, every anguished moan killed him.

"Is there anything I can do?" he finally asked.

Ajay just shook her head no continuing to comfort her best friend. Adam was frustrated because he didn't know what to do. He started pacing again slowly and methodically looking every bit like a caged animal. He was thankful that Aiden's sobs were getting more quiet with each passing moment.

He stopped Chris at the stairs after he had put the kids down for bed.

"How is she?" Chris asked his blue eyes dimmed with worry.

"Ajay gave her some kind of pill, she's calming down some now." he said glancing over his shoulder.

"That sucks she got that bad." he said shaking his head.

Adam didn't exactly know what that meant. Chris looked at Adam when he didn't say anything else. It was like he wanted to ask him something. Chris waited patiently.

"Umm, can I ask you for some advice?" he finally started looking semi-uncomfortable

"Yeah sure." Chris shrugged.

Adam ran his hand through his hair again, a nervous tic of his, "I'm not really good with this sort of thing, you know like when girls cry and stuff. Jay always handled Ajay and usually I would just get up and leave if it were anybody else."

Chris felt very awkward at the moment. Never in a million years would he have ever thought he would be giving relationship advice to Adam of all people.

Adam was growing more and more uncomfortable every second Chris was silent, "I just don't want to make anything worse for her. It sucks when she cries…just fuck it, never mind."

Chris stepped in front of him, "Lets' grab a beer and talk."

He ran his tongue across his teeth and nodded at the younger man. Chris opened two beers and slid one to Adam across the countertop. They both took long sips and kind of looked around the room awkwardly.

"This is a little weird." Adam commented.

Chris blew out a breath, "With Aiden she needs you to be strong for her right now. When she's upset like she is right now, the best thing to do is hold her and play with her hair. It kind of distracts her. Don't try to make jokes, just sit there and be quiet. When she talks, listen. Just be there for her, it will mean a lot to her to know that she can count on you."

Adam was stoic, taking in all of this information. Chris was pensive as he watched Adam. He was about to die from curiosity.

He just had to ask, "You know all of the little random flings and hook ups I used to have before Ajay were never as in depth as you and Aiden are. I mean one of the girls dog died and we just had a mourning period of about a week before we started hooking back up.

Adam shrugged, "What's your point?"

"Well, that I was never emotionally involved with any of those girls and you've never been either…until now." Chris said turning his beer up.

"Aiden's different everybody knows that." Adam brushed off.

"So do you love her? Are you in love with her?" Chris questioned.

"No. You know me better than that." he scoffed.

Chris grinned, "Yeah, I thought I did, but she's bringing out this totally new Adam."

Adam rolled his eyes, "I care for her. I don't like to see her upset because if she's upset I don't get laid, now do you understand? I like to protect my investment that's all."

Chris choked a little on his beer seeing Ajay come into the kitchen just as he said that.

She put her hands on her hips, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Adam whipped around to face his sister relieved that Aiden wasn't with her.

"Nothing, I mean that's a lot of time and sperm I've invested in that girl." he clarified.

Ajay pulled a disgusted face and slapped him up the side of his head making him spill some of his beer on him.

"Bitch." he grumbled.

"Don't talk about my sweet Cookie that way! And why are you not wrapping it up when you have sex with her?" she hissed.

"I'm not discussing our sex life with you." he snarled through clenched teeth.

Chris stepped into change the subject, "Did she fall asleep?"

"Yes, those pills knock her out remember?" Ajay sighed, "That was hard to watch. I can't imagine Joey or Kenzie screaming for me like that and not being able to comfort them."

Chris hugged her, "I would never do something like that to you."

"Should I take her upstairs?" Adam wondered throwing his beer bottle away.

"She would probably be more comfortable. Don't worry about waking her up, she's out cold." Ajay said leaning her head on Chris' shoulder.

He went into the living room and looked at Aiden curled up on the couch. Her cheeks were glistening from her crying so much. It broke his heart to see her so fragile, even more so than usual. He put his arms behind her neck and knees and lifted her to his chest.

He got to her room and changed her clothes before he tucked her in. He sat beside her on the bed just staring at her in the soft glow from the lamp. He was so confused, disoriented by all the little things that made Aiden herself. Chris had brought up a very valid point about him treating this relationship very different form the others. He hadn't even really realized he was doing it, everything just seemed so natural. It wasn't expected of him, but appreciated. Every time she smiled, kissed, or hugged him it made him want to keep doing things for her.

Funny how he was just realizing that now. He moved her long bangs from her face, his mouth tweaking into a small smile. He was going to make sure she made it through this ordeal. He leaned over and kissed her several times before turning off the light and going back downstairs.

"You're right those pills made her comatose. She didn't budge." he said dropping into the arm chair.

Ajay and Chris both sat straight up, "What did you just say."

Adam furrowed his brow, "She was dead asleep."

"No, no, no, no…." Ajay moaned running upstairs with Chris right behind her.

Adam followed wondering what the hell was going on. He went to Aiden's room and instantly lost his temper when he saw Ajay shaking Aiden awake.

"What the hell are you doing? You're going to wake her up!" he yelled.

"Shut up!" they both shouted.

Aiden slowly blinked her eyes open though she was clearly still out of it and highly medicated. Ajay and Chris hugged Aiden tightly and whispered for her to go back to sleep even though she wasn't really awake. Chris kissed her forehead as Ajay tucked her back in. They went back out into the hallway dragging Adam with them. Ajay wiped her eyes as Chris pulled her into a tight embrace.

"What the fuck just happened?" Adam questioned.

Chris shook his head slowly and pointed to Ajay who was facing the other way.

Ajay pulled away tears still falling, "Can you turn on the baby monitor, it will make me feel better. I'm going to go get something to drink."

He slipped back inside to turn on the monitor and retrieve the other one.

Adam was waiting for him, "Fill me in on what just happened."

Chris was pale and looked like he was a million miles away, "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Adam threw his arms up and let them drop at his side, pissed that nobody would tell him anything he went back downstairs to see Ajay's shaking hands mixing together Red Bull and vodka. Chris turned up the vodka bottle, wincing as the shot burned down his throat.

He was really fed up then, "Seriously, what the fuck is going on?"

Ajay dabbed her eyes with a tissue, "Nothing, you just scared us. That's very powerful medicine she's on. She usually only takes a half, but I gave her a whole one because she was so upset. I just though I had hurt her…again."

She buried her head into Chris' neck unable to stop the tears.

"What do you mean _again_?" Adam asked his muscles twitching in fear.

"Just let it go. Everything is okay. Aiden is fine babe, you didn't hurt her." Chris shushed her.

Adam didn't like being given the run around at all but he knew they weren't going to tell him anything. He grabbed another beer and went to sit back down with them. Nobody really watched the TV, they just sat there lost in their thoughts.

Chris cut Ajay off at her fourth drink and they retreated upstairs. He sat alone still trying to figure out what Ajay meant when she said she thought that she had hurt Aiden again. He gave up after a little while and went upstairs.

Aiden hadn't moved from the spot where Chris and Ajay had left her. He frowned seeing that she had been crying in her sleep. He turned off the hall light and undressed down to his boxers. He got into bed beside Aiden.

He kissed her cheek gently, "Night kid."

* * *

_**Review PLEASE!**_


	16. You Can Have Him

Sometime during the early morning hours something woke him up. He reached for Aiden in the dark, his heart racing when she wasn't there. He muttered several expletives as he fumbled to turn on the lamp knocking it over in the process. He sat it back upright and scanned the room. Aiden was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room staring at him. The blank look on her face was creeping him out.

"Aiden? You okay?" he said forcing his voice to be strong and not shake.

Her lower lip trembled, "Alex forgot her bunny….she won't sleep without it."

Why did the hell did the room feel so cold?

"Come back to bed sweetheart." he coaxed.

"How can I sleep when I know she's not?" Aiden cried.

She still seemed a little bit out of it to him.

"It's freezing honey, just at least get back under the covers for me okay? I'll stay up with you." he pleaded.

She finally got up and went back to their bed clutching Lexie's yellow stuffed bunny.

He pulled her to him, "You're not cold?"

Aiden shrugged her slim shoulders and started sobbing into her lap. She covered her face with her hands and cried like she would never stop. He sat up and pulled her into his chest, running his fingers through her hair like Chris told him to.

As he listened to her cry, sitting there feeling the sobs roll through her he realized that he would do just about anything to get her to stop crying. He kept his lips pressed to her temple silently willing her to stop crying. He closed his eyes letting her soft whimpers and heartfelt groans fill his head. He let them fill his brain and form shapes and patterns from them to make her pain real to him.

"She'll be back in a few hours." he whispered, his eyes still closed as the colors swirled in his head.

"I can't believe I let her leave like that." she hiccupped.

He inhaled the scent of her hair, finally opening his eyes. He remained still and silent. His fingers caressed the silky tendrils.

He felt her small arms tighten around him, "I just want to hold her, tell her that I love her."

"You will." he breathed into her hair, his lips finding her pulse in her neck.

She stayed up until daylight crying softly into his neck. He had dozed off several times despite his best effort. She trudged down the hall to take a shower before the sun was up, leaving him to fall asleep. A few hours later Ajay and Chris came down to the kitchen to fix the kids their breakfast. Aiden had her forehead resting on the marble trying to ease the tension in her head from her pounding migraine.

"Aiden honey is there something we can do? Anything?" Ajay asked as she put Kenzie into her high chair.

The knot in her stomach tightened even tighter when she thought about how she would be doing the same thing right now if Lexie were here. She was ill and exhausted.

She grabbed her coffee cup, "How about don't drug me up anymore. I wouldn't have been able to go get Lexie if I needed to because of those damn pills."

Ajay dropped her eyes as Aiden left the room.

Chris went to her, "Don't take that personally babe. She's just angry and needed to lash out at someone."

She nodded, "I know. I just can't imagine being in her shoes and having to watch us with our kids. I feel so bad for her."

Adam woke up a few hours later and held Aiden in his lap as she counted down the minutes.

"I feel like I could puke right now. What if he's late or something?" she whispered to Adam.

"Then we'll go to him. At twelve o'clock one way or another Lexie's going to be with you." he assured.

She went back to drawing shapes in the middle of his chest on his t-shirt. Ajay elbowed Chris discreetly on the couch. He nodded once knowing she was proud of the way Adam was handling things. At noon on the dot Alex pulled into the drive and was at the door with Lexie. Aiden raced to it and opened it.

"Mama." Lexie smiled, her face lit up like sunshine.

Alex handed her off to her mother. Aiden squeezed her baby tightly as tears of happiness fell from her eyes.

"Thank you for being on time." she cried.

He gave her a small smile, gently wiping her tears away, "I knew you would be worried."

Aiden looked at her daughter before kissing both of her cheeks. Lexie broke into a smile putting her hands on Aiden's cheeks.

"I'm gonna go. I don't want to hold you up." he said quietly.

She looked at him, "Don't go yet. I...I would like to talk to you."

He looked past her, seeing Adam watching him like a hawk.

"Sure. I don't have any plans." he agreed stepping inside and closing the door.

He took off his leather jacket and hung it on the coat rack before following Aiden. He walked with her, his hand on the small of her back.

He nodded at Adam smugly, "_Adam_."

He refused to answer and just continued to stare at him. He hated that prick. Alex smirked, he hated Adam equally as much and loved getting a rise out of him. They went into Ajay and Chris' office and closed the door.

"How was she last night?" Aiden asked.

"She cried all the way home and for about twenty minutes after we got there but she relaxed after that and we had a pretty good night. I kept her up a little later than usual. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her." he explained.

"That's okay. I would have done the same thing." she smiled at Lexie who was playing the her necklace.

"How did she do on the road?" he wondered.

"She had a good time except for the teething." Aiden answered.

He didn't want to but he had to ask, "How did Adam do with her?"

She looked at him then, "I told you Adam doesn't have a lot of interaction with her out of respect for you. He knows I don't want to confuse her."

Alex was indecisive, "He sees her more than I do Ai, I just want to make sure my daughter is safe and being taken care of."

"Of course she is. You know she's my priority.' Aiden shot back.

"It sucks seeing you and her with him." he admitted.

Aiden let out a sarcastic laugh, "I know the feeling, trust me."

"Yeah, but _Adam_? He's ten times worse than I ever thought about being." Alex pointed out, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

She rolled her eyes, "You know I've heard that from everybody but I have yet to see any proof of it from him."

It was Alex's turn to laugh sarcastically then, "For whatever reason you still captivate him. You've been able to hold his attention longer than some of his marriages."

Aiden was angry then, "Maybe I'm conceited but I don't find it that unusual that he and I are still seeing each other. There's a lot more to me other than what I do in the bedroom. Maybe that's why you and I are suddenly so incompatible."

"I wasn't trying to make you mad or insult you." he said.

"Well you did." she snapped.

Alex sighed, "I don't want to argue with you."

"Then lets end this conversation before I say something I may regret and you just say something." she said standing up.

"I really hoped we could have a good conversation for once. I don't intentionally try to harm you or upset you." he said going to the door.

"I find that harder to believe than Adam being with me." she retorted.

Alex hugged and kissed Lexie when he reached the door.

"Will you let me talk to her if I call you this week?" he asked quietly.

"_**If**_ you call." she said.

He leaned in to press a kiss to her mouth but she pulled away from him before he could.

"Have a good day Alex." she hissed.

Before she closed the door he looked past her into the living room to see Adam smirking devilishly at her reaction.

**

* * *

**

LATER THAT NIGHT

* * *

Alex kissed his way down the woman's taut midsection smiling when he saw her skin tingle. She was writhing beneath him begging for release. She was desperate after his hour long foreplay session with her. He had brought her to the brink too many times to count. Her legs were open wide aching for him to touch her most sensitive spot. He hovered over her indecisively for only a moment before he ducked his head and took her core into his mouth.

He winced a little at her loud scream but continued pleasuring her. His tongue delved into her making her arch her back in ecstasy. Her fingers tangled in his dark curly hair, tugging it slightly.

He should be turned on right?

He was in the middle of cunnilingus, knowing she would willingly return the favor any way that he wanted her to. So why was he losing his erection? Why did every moan make him cringe? He increased the intensity to hurry this along. He penetrated her with his fingers and sat back to watch her go.

She hadn't noticed his distraction…yet.

She always did figure it out, though she was too lost in the moment he'd created for her. Before she was finished he climbed off the bed to go to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth throwing his toothbrush away afterwards. He sighed leaning onto the counter in disgust.

He had a gorgeous girl who was eager to please, probably just realizing he had gotten up. Instead of enjoying himself he was dealing with internal turmoil. He splashed more water on his face hoping to get a grip on himself. When he looked up to his reflection he saw Aiden leaned against the doorframe.

He turned off the faucet and spun around to see his mind was playing tricks on him. Mollie was standing there looking thoroughly satisfied.

"What's wrong?" she sighed, a smile forming on her face.

He wiped his face on the towel trying to buy some time, "Nothing is wrong."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her, "How do you want me to return the favor?" she purred nibbling on his ear.

He swallowed, "Yeah, uh…don't worry about it."

She pushed him back on the bed. He fell back and stared at the ceiling trying to enjoy Mollie's mouth on him. He pinched his eyes closed as she worked feverishly to get him hard again.

Aiden would do it slow, the way he liked it, soft and gentle making him beg her to speed up.

His brow furrowed when his mind conjured up the image of her going down on Adam. Her using all of her tricks and techniques he loved on him, while he smirked that evil all knowing smirk of his, the same one he saw earlier that day. That one upper, _I'm-better-than-you-because-I'm-fucking-your-wife smirk_.

He let out a growl unable to erase the mental picture of those two out of his head. Alex was just about to step up to Adam and knock his teeth down his throat when he felt Mollie moving to straddle his hips. He sat up to stop her by pushing her over to the other side of the bed…Aiden's side of the bed.

"What the fuck Alex?" she pouted obviously angered by his actions.

He pulled on his boxers and went down to his game room. He flipped on the console. Maybe a little Splinter Cell would do the trick.

His hands were shaking as he began playing. He couldn't focus on anything but that _fucking smirk_. He was trying to work out why in the hell it was irritating him so when Mollie came stomping downstairs.

"I'm out of here asshole, hope you've got good porn." she sassed.

She waited for a response. He didn't acknowledge her at all. For all she knew he didn't even know she was standing there.

She snatched the remote from his hand and threw it across the room, "Fuck you Alex! Better yet, next time you want to, don't call me you piece of shit."

He sat back on the couch still lost in thought.

Somewhere in that head of his where he wouldn't let her in. Only one person was allowed in there…precious _Aiden. _She was SO tired of him giving her false hope about everything. She went to the door stopping to look at a picture of Aiden smiling at her from the frame. She took it off the shelf and smashed it on the ground, the glass shattering across the floor.

"You can have him bitch." she snarled grinding her shoe onto Aiden's face.

* * *

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and Alice Jericho for reviewing...which you should do too! **_

**_No really..._**

**_xoxo_**


	17. The Mean Lady

Four weeks later Aiden, Adam, and Alex had developed a routine of sorts. Aiden and Lexie accompanied Adam on the road during the week and Alex took her on the weekends. Aiden had eventually worked up to her daughter being gone for two days. Alex had been exceptionally nice to her as well, though she was skeptical of his motives.

He had had hell to pay for when he finally got in touch with Mollie. She was still pissed at him because he refused to have actual intercourse with her. He couldn't tell her that he hadn't had actual intercourse with anybody since the last time with Aiden. He just couldn't bring himself to go all the way with those other women. In his mind oral sex wasn't cheating.

His hatred of Adam had grown tremendously and vice versa. They had exchanged words almost every time they saw each other. Alex was furious because Lexie was growing more and more accustomed to having Adam around so much so that she began to reach form him when he answered the door when Alex was dropping her off. Adam despised it when Alex was around Aiden because he had started inviting himself in and playing family man with Aiden and Savannah while he was forced to watch and keep his mouth shut. It killed him to see Alex smirk at him after pecking Aiden on the lips before he left. It had become a competition between them, who could piss the other off more.

* * *

Tonight was a big night for Adam. Aiden and Lexie were actually going to accompany him to the show.

"How many Red Bulls did you have Ajay?" Jay teased sitting in the locker room.

"Aiden's coming tonight." Adam smiled..

"I heard last night and this morning actually." Jay laughed

Adam ignored him and the other guys that had snickered.

"It's a big deal she and Lexie are coming tonight. Ajay says she usually doesn't watch the matches and stuff." he said finishing taping his wrists up.

"Maybe she'll like our PG version better." Jay mused.

Adam looked at his vibrating phone, "That's her."

He pulled on a t-shirt and rushed out the door. Jay smiled and shook his head. It was nice seeing Adam excited and passionate about his relationship with Aiden. He hadn't seen him like this in awhile. Adam found Aiden standing near the parking lot. He went to her and without hesitating framed her face and engaged her in a deep kiss.

Aiden was breathless, "What was that for?"

He trailed down her neck, "I'm glad you're here."

"I can tell." She grinned.

"Let's go, I want to show you both off." he said taking Lexie in one arm and grabbing her hand with the other.

In the shadows someone watched the loving exchange and snarled in disgust. Addison didn't know who that pixie bitch was or when Adam had had another kid but she was damn sure going to find out.

* * *

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Aiden whispered as they sat backstage watching people mill around.

She was standing next to the crate that he was sitting on .

He was playing with Lexie, making faces at her, "It's probably my fault. They're more than likely wondering who the two of you are."

"Oh." she said blushing.

"We can go to my locker room if you want." he offered.

Aiden frowned, "Won't that be weird too?"

Adam got down, "Nah, Jay and Jericho are in there. The other guys won't care."

He took her hand and led her down the hallway.

"Wait here." he said handing Lexie to her.

Aiden fixed Lexie's barrettes in her curly hair.

Adam poked his head back out, "Come on in."

She stepped in feeling her face get hot instantly.

"This is my friend Aiden and her daughter Lexie." Adam introduced.

Aiden smiled shyly. Lexie let out an excited yell and clapped her hands together.

"Are you flirting you little hussy baby?" Jay laughed taking her from Adam.

Adam pulled Aiden to him in a hug and kissed the top of her head. She felt very awkward in there especially because one of they guys wouldn't stop staring at her. He was sitting in the back corner taping his wrist methodically. His blue eyes fixed on her every move. She looked at him unable to keep his intense gaze for very long.

"This is Cody, Ted, you know Jericho, and Randy is in the back there." Adam introduced.

"Its nice to meet you." She said with a wave.

Cody was smiling, "And you're just his friend? Not his_ girl_…_friend_?"

Aiden looked up at Adam unsure, "Umm…no, we're just friends."

Ted chimed in, "Well because we've never met any of his _'friends'_ that's why we were wondering."

"Shut up. Aiden's different, aren't you honey?" Adam mused, kissing the top of her head.

"I guess so." she whispered blushing furiously.

Cody and Ted both laughed, "Let's see how many times we can make her blush."

Adam's face deadpanned, "Don't' start, she was nervous about coming in the first place."

"A newbie? This is going to be fun." Cody teased.

Randy stood up and tossed his tape into this bag, "Knock it off you two. We've go to go."

He took long casual strides to her stopping right in front of her, "It was nice meeting you Aiden."

"You too." she said glancing at him nervously.

He pulled her chin up to look at him, "If those two bother you, let me know, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks." she squeaked out.

His eyes twinkled as his full lips tweaked into the most delicious smirk she'd ever seen.

Adam cleared his throat beside her. Randy dropped his hand and left the room. Cody and Ted followed behind him.

Aiden let out a shaky breath, "That was intense. He's kind of scary."

Chris laughed, "Wait till you meet the Undertaker."

Aiden whipped around to him, "The _who_?"

"Thank God for special RAW episodes. Make sure we're there when that goes down." jay laughed.

Adam chuckled to himself going to get ready for his match later.

* * *

"Alright babe, we've got to head to the ring. Are you going to be okay here or did you want to go back to the locker room?" Adam asked.

"Here is fine. I don't like to watch the matches by myself." she winced.

He laughed and nodded, "Okay fair enough. Jay's around here somewhere if you need anything."

She smiled, "Be careful."

"Can I get a kiss for good luck from my favorite girls?" he asked leaning down to Lexie first.

She puckered out her lips to him, which he pecked.

He tickled her belly making her giggle and bury her face into Aiden's shoulder.

"Good luck." Aiden said after a long kiss.

He spanked her butt, "Be ready to leave as soon as I get done."

She winked at him before he stepped behind the curtain.

"He's so silly isn't he?" Aiden asked her daughter.

Lexie whined wanting to be put down. Aiden looked around first to make sure they wouldn't be in anybody's way before putting her down. Muffled music began playing and Lexie began dancing. Aiden pulled out her phone to take a video to send to Ajay. She laughed as Lexie clapped her hands and twirled around. On her screen she saw a woman approaching Lexie. She stopped recording and quickly sent the video to Ajay before putting it back in her clutch.

She knelt down and held her arms out. Lexie went running to her with a huge smile on her face. Aiden locked eyes with the red headed woman approaching them. Her smile seemed friendly and inviting enough."Sorry if she was in your way." Aiden apologized.

The woman shook her head, her white teeth gleaming, "No, she wasn't. I was admiring her dancing skills."

"Yeah, I don't know where she got that from." Aiden scoffed.

"I'm Addison by the way. I haven't seen you around here." the woman introduced.

"I'm Aiden, I'm here with Adam, um Edge, I think is his ring name." she replied.

Addison nodded, "I know him well. Who is this cutie?"

"This is Lexie, my daughter." Aiden said watching her munch on Cheerios.

"She's beautiful." Addison commented.

"Thank you." Aiden said.

"So how do you know Adam if you don't mind me asking." Addison asked

"We're friends, I'm best friends with his sister Ajay."

Addison didn't look surprised, "I was friends with her too when Adam and I used to date."

Aiden swallowed, "Oh, I didn't know the two of you dated. He never mentioned your name. Neither did Ajay come to think of it."

Addison's face grew dark then, "They probably didn't want to hurt your feelings."

Aiden shrugged uncomfortably, "It wouldn't have, Adam and I…"

"Aiden!" Adam called out coming over to the two women.

His blood ran ice cold in his veins when he saw that shocking red hair. This was so not look good. Addison smirked evilly waiting for Adam to approach them. Aiden looked shaken up, he could tell from her body language. He could only imagine why.

He took Lexie from her, "You ready to leave? We _need_ to leave."

She was definitely confused then. He didn't even acknowledge Addison.

"Hi Adam." she interrupted.

He turned to her slowly, a look of disgust on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he growled.

"Adam!" Aiden blurted out shocked by the sudden anger in his voice.

"Just talking to your girlfriend. I didn't know you had a daughter." she hissed.

Aiden shook, her head and opened her mouth to speak but Adam beat her to it.

"It's not really any of your business, we broke up a long time ago." he reminded her.

Aiden looked up at him trying to understand why he would claim Lexie as his own.

Addison laughed then, "Well then how's Joey? I do still have a right to ask about him doing I?"

"No, you gave up that right a long time ago." he growled.

"Yeah, right along with you, you piece of shit!" she shot back, "Excuse me if I'm a little shocked and pissed off that you're playing house with her and your daughter when you ditched me the first chance you got!"

"What is she talking about?" Aiden asked softly.

"_Nothing_, she's bat shit crazy, she always has been." Adam spat hatefully at Addison.

"Oh, so you haven't told her? Neither did Ajay huh? So typical of you and your family. I think she deserves to know, especially since you could go running off at any moment leaving her with all of your regrets and mistakes." She glared, her red hair making her that much more intimidating.

Adam was furious then, "Shut. The. Fuck. Up. She has nothing to do with anything that happened. Leave her out of it. I'll come back and talk to you after I take them back to the locker room."

Addison got in his face, "Bullshit! You said that the last time and you left out…again!"

"Aiden let's go." Adam ordered taking her by the arm.

Addison grabbed her other arm jerking her back against the wall.

Her eyes were crazed as she glared at Aiden, "What he doesn't want you to know is that I'm Joey's mother…and he's Joey's father."

* * *

_**Not something he wanted coming out like that!**_

_**Let me know what you think!**_

**_*thanks to Kennedy and Alice Jericho!*_**


	18. Taxi Ride

Aiden's jaw dropped open in shock. There was no way that could be true, but when she turned to look at Adam she knew it was. It was like someone had punched him in the gut as they all three stood still. Lexie was tugging on his hair obliviously.

Aiden blinked away tears. She was staring face to face with "the mean lady." The woman who had tormented Joey as a small child. The woman who abused Joey and left him malnourished to be found by his family. The woman who gave birth to an addicted infant because she was too selfish to give up her habit while she was pregnant. Sweet little Joey, innocent in all of this. It was just his unfortunate luck to be born to such irresponsible, selfish parents.

"Give me my daughter." Aiden whispered, glaring at Addison hatefully.

"Lets go back to the locker room and I'll explain everything." he said gently.

"_Give me my daughter right now_!" Aiden ordered shrilly, causing several by standers to stop and take notice of them.

Aiden took Lexie from Adam when he held her out.

"You had to know. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you." Addison smirked at Adam's pained expression.

Aiden was as mad as the night she had confronted Lacey. All of her shyness and polite manners flew out the window when she was this mad.

"You're right, I did need to know that. I needed to be able to put a face and a name together, to be able to see the disgusting human being that could do such a thing to their own child. That sweet little boy did nothing to deserve what you put him through and what he still deals with today. You should be ashamed of yourself. How a gentle, loving little boy would be cursed with a hateful, selfish piece of trash mother like you is beyond me." she ranted, tears flowing down her face.

"You don't know anything about me bitch!" Addison shouted stepping to Aiden.

"Nor do I want to, but know this. If you ever come around Joey again they won't find enough of you to identify." she said darkly before turning to go to the locker room.

"Aiden, wait…" Adam called out.

She stopped and pushed him backwards, "_Don't_!"

He steeled his jaw and watched her turn the corner. He was so fucking screwed now. He turned around to give Addison a piece of his mind but she was nowhere to be found.

"Fuck!" Adam roared running his hands through his hair.

"What's wrong with you?" Jay asked popping a chip into his mouth.

"Aiden knows." he grated out.

"Knows what? C'mon I hate guessing games." Jay smiled.

"She knows about Joey." he half moaned.

Jay was surprised, "How does she know about _that_? You didn't tell her did you?"

Adam rolled his eyes, "No Jay of course I didn't! Fucking Addison did, that bitch!"

"_Addison_ was _here_?" Jay choked.

"Was, being the magic word. She left before I could confront her. Aiden is pissed!" Adam groaned.

"Because you didn't' tell her or because of what you did?" Jay asked trying to differentiate.

"Jay, I don't fucking know!" he yelled taking off to the locker room.

* * *

Aiden was carrying Lexie, her purse, her diaper bag, and the car seat trying to juggle them all as she wandered around backstage in the parking garage. She found a secluded corner that was out of the way. She sat down her bags and the car seat to look up a cab company to come and pick her up. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand making her drop her phone. The battery skidded across the floor when the device hit. She stomped her foot in frustration. This was too much for her to handle.

"Need a hand?" A deep voice asked from behind her.

She turned to see the big tattooed guy with the ice blue eyes form the locker room. She wet her lips nervously barely able to nod. He took his bag off of his shoulder and put it beside hers and retrieved the pieces of her phone to put it back together.

"Where ya headed?" He asked.

"Nowhere yet, I dropped my phone before I could call a cab." She pouted, embarrassed by him finding her in a state of disarray.

He glanced at her skeptically, "I don't think that's a good idea. Why don't you ride with me, I'll take you where you need to go."

"I don't even know you though." she declined.

"You're not going to know the cab driver either." he pointed out waiting for her phone to reboot.

"I really hate being an inconvenience to anyone…" she began.

"The only inconvenience is this argument. We could go ahead and leave before whatever you're running from catches up to you." he remarked handing her phone back to her.

She looked back to the hallway where she could see several people milling around.

"My back is kinda hurting so I'm only going to bend over once. Should I get your stuff too or not?" he asked, his devil may care attitude weaving in and out of his words.

It wasn't a demand or an invitation. He seemed to care less about whatever decision she was going to make.

"Okay." she said quietly.

That smirk of his ghosted across his handsome features as he picked up their belongings. She followed him to his SUV, surprised when he buckled in the car seat with ease.

"Do you mind?" he asked in that carefree tone, holding his hands out to her for Lexie.

She hesitantly handed Lexie to him who again to her surprise didn't protest. He buckled her in and closed the door. He reached around Aiden to open her door for her.

"Thank you." she whispered settling into her seat.

"I assume you want me to take you back to Adam's hotel?" he asked glancing over at her.

"Yes, thank you." she replied.

"You always so shy and proper?" he grinned his teeth shining in the light making his skin even darker.

Why did he have to smell so good? His scent of cologne and mint was all around her.

"I don't know, are you always so blunt?" she asked quickly before she could stop herself.

He snorted, "Now you're being real."

She laughed sarcastically under her breath, "You're very frustrating."

His eyes were full of mischief when she looked over at him to see if she had made him mad.

"I get that a lot." he brushed off her comment.

She out of habit checked the speedometer and spied a folded picture tucked into the dash of a little girl about Lexie's age.

"Who is that?" she asked timidly pointing at the picture.

His face hardened, almost looking sad, "That's my daughter Alanna."

He pulled the picture out and handed it to her.

"She's very cute. She looks just like you." Aiden complimented looking at the little girl in her fathers arms.

"You think I'm cute?" he picked up on.

"What? No, I just meant, well yes, I don't know…" she rambled flustered at his question.

He chuckled then the muscles in his arm flexing as he made a turn. Aiden unfolded the picture the rest of the way to reveal a beautiful brunette woman.

"Is that her mother?" she questioned.

"Yeah, that's my wife Sam." he told her.

"I bet you miss them." she commented.

"We're kind of separated at the moment. Being married to a wrestler isn't easy." he told her, not really knowing why.

"Yeah, I know." she sympathized.

"You and Adam?" he asked sounding surprised.

"No, Alex Shelley, he's from TNA." she said, not knowing if that was going to be a bad thing or not.

Randy nodded, "I've heard of him, he's in a tag team right?"

"I guess." she said looking out the window.

"You don't_ know_?" he laughed, the surprise back in his deep voice.

She blushed, "I don't' watch wrestling. It scares me too much. He says I just don't get it, so I don't bother anymore."

He began laughing harder, "So let me get this straight, you're married and had a kid with a wrestler, your boyfriend is a wrestler and yet you don't watch it at all?"

Aiden rolled her eyes, "He's not my _boyfriend_."

"Wow, I'm glad I offered you a ride." he teased.

"Thanks for making fun of me." she said sourly.

"You don't find that somewhat amusing?" he asked.

"Not really." she sighed, glad they were pulling up to the hotel.

He parked under the large awning and got out to help her carry her stuff up to her room. They got up to her door. She unlocked the room and flipped on the lights very glad that Adam wasn't there yet.

Lexie was almost asleep on her shoulder as she turned back to Randy, "Thank you for the ride, it was very generous of you."

"If I insulted you I'm sorry. I've never met anyone like you before." he apologized.

"_I get that a lot_." she said, repeating his phrase from earlier.

He smirked, "I hope to see you around. Its hard to find such interesting company, while running a taxi service."

"Next time I need a ride I'll make sure to look for you." she smiled.

He nodded, "Have a good night."

"You too." she called closing the door.

* * *

"So I guess she left already then huh?" Jay muttered.

"All of her and Lexie's stuff is gone, what makes you think that?" Adam snapped.

"Drop the attitude alright? We need to find her and get to the bottom of why the hell Addison is here." Jay argued fed up with him.

Cody and Ted walked in, "RK-asshOle left us, can we get a ride with you guys?"

Adam and Jay exchanged a look.

"That fucking pretty boy! I swear…first he tries to get with Ajay and now Aiden?" Adam seethed through his teeth.

"You don't know that…" Jay groaned.

Adam jerked his bag onto his shoulder and left the room.

* * *

Ajay was on the couch playing with Kenzie when she heard her phone ring.

"Joey, it's a message from Aiden." she called.

He jumped on the couch beside her. He loved seeing what they were up to on their trip.

"That's Uncle Stinky's music. She likes it huh?" Ajay smiled looking at her son laughing and watching the video.

Suddenly tears filled his eyes.

He held her arm tightly, "Mommy, I don't want to see 'the mean lady.'"

The video ended before Ajay saw, "Honey, Mommy wouldn't let you see her ever again you know that."

"You call A-Ten." he cried.

Ajay restarted the video and almost passed out when she saw Addison walking up to Lexie just before the video cut out. Her hands were shaking as she hit the speed dial to Chris' phone. He was hanging out with Alex and Petey at the recording studio.

"Hey babe." he greeted casually.

"Chris! Chris…please come home." she begged.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Aiden! Addison found her!" she exclaimed.

"I'm on the way." he said.

"What's up, why are you leaving." Alex asked from the sound booth.

"You need to come too, Aiden might be in trouble." Chris urged.

Alex dropped his headphones and rushed out of the studio.

"I'm coming too." Petey added following his friends.

They knew all too well how dangerous Addison was, especially when it came to Adam, and even more so if she was high.

* * *

_**Review please...or no more updates...just kidding! I'm not that pathetic, lol :)**_


	19. Tell Me Everything

_**Nothing else to do...might as well post another chapter right?**_

* * *

Aiden had hopped in the shower after Randy had left to clear her head some. She stepped out of the steamy bathroom to see Adam stretched out on the bed in only his boxers with Lexie asleep on his chest. He didn't look at her, he just continued running a hand over Lexie's soft hair. Aiden changed into a silk nightgown and applied her lotion. When she ran out of things to do she finally looked at him. He looked incredibly peaceful propped up on the pillows holding her child. She moved to sit beside him turning where she could see his face.

"I want the whole story Adam." she said softly.

A sad smile crossed his features, "I've never told anyone the whole story."

"Not even Jay or Ajay?" she asked surprised.

He shook his head.

"How did you meet her, Addison I mean?" she began.

She didn't care if she had to lead the conversation to pull information out of him, she would do it.

"She was one of us. She trained with the Dudleys. Ajay has always been close to them so she became friends with Addison." he answered.

"How did you and Addison become more than just friends?" she asked next.

She saw his jaw flex, he was no where near comfortable talking about his ex with her.

"My girlfriend at the time wanted to experiment with threesomes, so she was brought in for that."

It sounded even worse out loud. He kept his eyes on the sleeping baby on his chest. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Aiden's face. He wished she couldn't see the fear on his. He was almost certain that she would never look at him the same again.

"And then what?" Aiden prompted.

He sighed, "Then a few weeks later I started hooking up with her without Amy around. She was okay with it until Addison ended up pregnant."

Aiden watched him carefully, reading all of the flickers of pain and regret on his face.

"Pretty stupid huh?" he asked.

"Selfish is the word I would use. Then again if its offered to you why not take advantage of the situation?" she remarked.

That was a major blow to him, to hear the disappointment in her voice. Funny how bad it hurt coming from her. Everybody else he could brush off, but not her.

"Keep going." she said quietly.

"I was with both of them for almost a year. Addison and I went to this concert and scored backstage passes. We partied with the band, got wasted and shit and my dumbass was in a hurry to get laid and didn't put one on." he stopped lost in a distant memory for a moment, "I remember waking up looking for it and thinking no big deal it's only one time."

Aiden stayed quiet. She knew they had been dancing on razorblades with that, but she had refused to acknowledge it.

"When she was three months in she finally came out and told me." he said.

"What was your reaction?" she asked.

His face changed, he looked almost ashamed, "I was furious, scared, trapped...not exactly what she was hoping for, but I didn't know what else to do. She kept begging me to say something but I froze. The fuck was I gonna say to her?"

Aiden wet her lips, she of course didn't like his answer but knew he was at least being truthful with her.

"Amy broke up with me for obvious reasons, it was pretty mutual. Addison went to Ajay, Ray, and Devon and told them how big of a jerk I was being and convinced me to let her move in with me. Practice being a family I guess." He cringed at the last part.

"That makes sense." Aiden interjected quietly.

He chuckled ruefully, his expression far away again, "Seems that way doesn't it? I wasn't committed from the start though. I didn't want to make things work, I didn't want to be a family. I neglected her every chance I got especially when she got whiny and clingy. I-I just couldn't handle that shit. I just don't understand hormones. We were like ghosts living in the same house. Ajay took her to doctor's appointments and used my card to buy everything the baby was going to need and I just didn't care. I never once even pretended like I did."

Aiden didn't ask why, something else was bugging her more at the moment.

"What about the drugs Adam? Did you know?" she asked pointedly.

"I knew that she used some before she was pregnant, I assumed she had stopped. I wasn't around her enough to know for sure. I would have stopped her any way I could have if I had known. Joey was innocent in all of this. I could have killed her when I found out." he said angrily.

Now for the hardest question of all, "Why did you leave after he was born? How could you?"

He had readily answered all of her questions up until that point. The back story was common knowledge, after Joey was born was the frustrating part, for everyone involved. He had never offered his side of the story to anyone. He had blatantly refused on every prior occasion. He fell back into this habit and kept his mouth shut. Aiden stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"I just did." he finally said.

"That's not an acceptable answer." she shot back.

"What do you want from me? I fucking left that it, happens all the time." he almost shouted but remembered Lexie was asleep.

Aiden didn't move, she was onto him. He always got mad when someone was getting too close.

"Why?" she asked again.

He was staring up at the ceiling the all too familiar black stare on his face. Aiden laid beside him, propping up on her elbow to look at him. She gently pressed her palm to his cheek to turn his head. His eyes were watery and vulnerable, his lip quivered every so slightly. She leaned to him and kissed him. He squeezed his eyes shut the second her lips touched his, tears trickling down his face.

She pulled back, "Tell me everything Adam."

He focused on Lexie sleeping peacefully on his bare chest.

"I was there and saw him being born, I heard his first cry and cut the cord, but I didn't _feel_ anything. All I could think about was how he deserved better than me and Addison. I never loved her, he was a drunken mistake and on what should have been the happiest, proudest moment of my life…I felt miserable. My son was a crack baby." he paused, more tears spilling as his lip trembled, "Ajay brought him into our room and put him in my arms and I was sick with guilt. I felt so sorry for him that he had me as a father, me the fucked up womanizer."

A tormented look crossed his features. She could see how badly this really had bothered him.

"I just didn't feel anything but pity for him, I didn't want to add him to my list of shit that I had screwed up, so I just left. He was just better off that way in my head." he cried.

Aiden was running her fingers through his hair listening to him.

She kissed his cheek gently, "Why didn't you tell Ajay or Jay how you felt?"

"It was just easier for them to think that I was a loser than to know that I wished I wasn't his father." he sighed.

"But don't you see that underneath it all you truly did love Joey because you only wanted what was best for him?" she questioned.

He had never thought of it like that. The bad always weighed the heaviest on him.

He shook his head, "It doesn't' matter what 'good' I attempted because look what I let him live through. What kind of human being does that to a child? Ajay called me when they found him, sent me pictures of his condition and I wanted to die. I sat in my hotel room and broke down because despite everything I did to try and save him from being hurt, it still happened. Addison just doubled everything I was trying to prevent. I was physically sick for weeks thinking about how badly Joey had been hurt."

"Why didn't you go to him?" she asked.

"And make everything worse? Confuse him even more? Ajay always wanted a child, and I knew she would be able to provide for him and love him the way I never could. So I didn't interfere. I let her handle the situation. I would have only messed things up if I had gone to them."

She turned his head for him to look at her again, "You have to tell her this. Adam, she would understand if you would talk to her."

"No. Its water under the bridge now. Joey's happy and safe and that's all that really matters to everyone." he said stubbornly.

"But she would understand why and finally know that you didn't abandon him for no reason." Aiden argued.

"She doesn't need to know that. She'll continue believing that I'm a selfish prick, and wont doubt what she did for Joey. If I had shown up she would have stepped back and let me take over the reigns at being a parent and I couldn't allow it. It's better this way." he said.

Aiden thought for a moment, "Do you think if you would have sucked it up and loved Addison and treated her right that she wouldn't have done the things she did?"

He thought for only a moment before shaking his head, "I'm not sure if it would have made a difference or not. She would have known I wasn't being truthful with her though. She knew I never loved her. When I realized that she was a terrible mother, I gave up on being a father. There was no way I could raise him alone."

"You're so good with Lexie though." She commented.

"Its different." he said trailing off with what he was going to say.

"How?" she asked.

"You're a great mother. You're loving, nurturing, giving, supportive. If I had tried to make it work with Addison, I would have had to be all of those things. I would have had to be good example for her and Joey. I just couldn't do that without any support. Maybe if she had been more like you it could have worked…" he frowned.

He got up and carefully put Lexie in her crib and turned off all the lights. He got back into bed after undressing, his hands moving over her body taking her gown off. She sighed deeply letting him push into her slowly. He pulled the sheet over them and for the first time, he went slow with her. He took his time making love to every single inch of her body. He caressed her and held her tightly keeping in contact with her as much as possible. She had almost forgotten how good it felt when things weren't so rushed.

She caught the message he was trying to convey to her through his actions. He was thanking her for handling the situation so well, for gently forcing him to get those emotions off of his chest finally. She knew he needed this release, to get everything out of him once and for all.

His mouth hovered over hers as he came into her. She kissed him, needing to engage her mouth so she wouldn't wake up her daughter. He waited patiently for her body to stop contracting around her orgasm before he rolled onto his back.

She nestled into his chest comfortably, "Goodnight."

"Night." he breathed.

He wasn't sleepy at all. All of the emotions and memories were invading his brain forcing him to think about them. He kissed the top of her head. Something deep within him was stirring and he couldn't put a finger on what it was. It was just out of reach for it to be tangible, yet close enough to keep him up all night trying to understand. He looked down at Aiden asleep on his chest and for the first time in his life felt at absolute peace.

* * *

"What happened?" Chris asked seeing Ajay pacing around the living room.

He, Alex and Petey had just gotten to the house.

Joey ran to him and hugged his legs, looking up at Chris with his big blue eyes filled with tears, "Daddy, I'll be a good boy. Please don't send me to 'the mean lady.'"

Chris' heart sank as he picked Joey up, "That's never going to happen buddy. You're not going anywhere, you're going to stay here with me, Mommy, and Kenzie."

Two big tears fell down his cheeks, "Were A-Ten and Lou Lou bad? Is that why they're with the mean lady? Will you help them Daddy? Uncle Skunky, A-Ten is sorry, will you go get them? Lou Lou is just a baby…"

Everyone looked at Ajay then to make sense of the little boy's words.

"Please tell me that psycho bitch isn't around my wife and daughter right now." Alex said lowly.

"Joey go to the kitchen and you can have two of A-Ten's cookies okay?" Ajay tried.

She didn't want to talk about Addison in front of him and upset him even more. Chris put him down, but he didn't move.

"I want A-Ten and Lou!" he screamed, stomping his feet.

Chris looked at Ajay who was fighting tears. Joey had only had a couple of tantrums since they had adopted him and they had all revolved around Addison. Ajay went to him and held him tightly as he began to cry again.

"What's going on Ashton?" Petey asked sitting beside her.

"Seriously, are they in fucking danger right now?" Alex shouted.

Joey whimpered and cowered, seeming to have a relapse into his younger years when Addison had abused him.

Chris glared at him, "Keep your voice down!"

"Oh my God, they are aren't they?" he said, his mouth gaping.

"Nobody's answering their phone. I tried to call them." Ajay cried.

Alex was about to lose it, this was his biggest fear to be away from them and not be able to protect them.

"Where are they?" he asked when Aiden didn't answer her phone.

"They were in Dallas, but they'll be leaving in the morning to do a couple of house shows I think." Ajay answered.

"You're not going down there are you?" Petey questioned.

"I'm not going to sit around here and let something happen to them." Alex said sarcastically.

He was growing more and more furious by the second, "You know what this is all your brother's fault. It's his fault that they are in danger right now because of his coke whore stalker ex!"

Chris was getting mad because Alex was scaring Joey, "Will you keep your voice down? We'll figure this out."

While Alex booked the first flight out, Ajay called Jay again.

"Hello?" he finally answered."William Jason Reso!" Ajay scolded through her tears.

"Uh-oh…what did I do?" he asked warily.

"I've called you a thousand times that's all." she griped, "What's going on with Adam and Aiden? Are they okay?"

"They had a pretty interesting night from what I gathered. I don't really know how to tell you this, just don't freak out…" he began.

"Addison is there, for real?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Yeah, how did you know?" he questioned.

"Aiden sent me a video of Lexie and I saw her in the background." she sighed.

Jay hesitated.

"What? What's wrong?" Ajay asked, reading his silence.

"There's one more thing…" he paused again, "Aiden knows the whole story about Joey now. Addison told her."

* * *

**_Enjoy and review! Thanks to those of you who take the time to do so!_**


	20. Joey's Turmoil

**_I get SO carried away when writing these long ass chapters :) Lucky you huh? Enjoy! _**

**_*Thanks to Kennedy, AliceJericho, and babygirlleahrox for their reviews!*_**

* * *

Ajay's face drained of color hearing what her brother had said. Aiden knew their family's biggest secret. No wonder she wasn't answering her phone.

"Are you sure she knows? How did she react?" Ajay asked.

"She knows. Adam was insane mad about it. Aiden left without him to go back to the hotel." he told her.

"If you get in touch with either of them please ask them to call me. Joey really wants to talk to Aiden. He saw the video and is all messed up."

"I will. Everything is going to be fine. Adam and I won't let anything happen to them." Jay assured.

"Okay get them to call me in the morning. Love you too." sighed hanging up.

"I'm outta here. The closest flight I could get was to Dallas I'll just drive the rest of the way." Alex said grabbing his keys.

"I'll take you to the airport if you want." Petey offered.

"Let's go, I've got an hour." Alex hurried.

Joey had cried himself to sleep in Ajay's arms, "I can't believe this is happening. Why didn't we know she was released from jail? After everything she's done to us, you would think someone would call and let us know."

Chris shrugged, "Yeah, you would think so. As long as Aiden and Lexie are okay I'll be happy though. Wonder what she thinks about the whole back story with Joey, Adam and Addison?"

Ajay chewed on her lip, "Do you think she's mad we didn't tell her?"

"Knowing her probably not." he brushed of.

Ajay sighed, praying silently that Alex got to them before Addison could do them any harm.

* * *

The drive to Fort Worth had been mostly silent. Aiden for the most part acted like he wasn't there. She seemed to be lost in thought. He didn't press her though it was bugging him that she wasn't her usual chirpy self. He was thankful she was still with him. They got to the venue where thy were putting on the house show he had insisted they come to with him. It made him feel at least a little more in control with them there, he could keep a better eye on them. Addison was still at large, she was notorious for her surprise appearances.

"I've got to go, are you and Lexie going to be okay here?' he asked pulling on his elbow pads.

Aiden nodded looking around the boring room in disinterest.

He frowned but kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to make the situation worse by saying the wrong thing. Aiden sat back in her seat deep in thought. Everything that he had revealed to her was still fresh in her mind, still nagging her to think through. It blew her mind every time she looked at her daughter how anyone could mistreat an innocent child.

She teared up when she thought of Joey cowering in a corner not understanding what he had done wrong. Crying out for mercy from his deranged mother. She wiped the tears from her cheeks trying to decide if Adam was more at fault for not involving himself in the matter and essentially allowing his son to be abused or if Addison in all of her psychotic glory was the ultimate one to blame. Could someone really snap that bad and focus all of their rage on their child because of the absence of the father? It made her cringe trying to think about it.

A knock jarred her from her thoughts.

"Are you Aiden?" a stage hand asked.

She looked at him curiously, "Yes."

"Edge wanted me to show you where he wanted you to wait for him."

Aiden narrowed her eyes at the man. Adam hadn't said anything about her leaving the room.

"Please miss, I don't want to get into trouble." he frowned.

Aiden gathered her things and pushed a sleeping Lexie in the stroller to follow the man. He took her to the busiest area backstage. Several wrestlers were milling around waiting for their turn to step into the ring. She caught a glimpse of Adam waiting at the thick black curtain. He was all business, concentration etched in his chiseled features, his hair was down and damp, his muscles twitching to put on a show. What an exciting thrill it must be to have people pay to see you, to hear them chant your name, to boo and hiss at your command. She could almost grasp his rock star attitude when she saw him like that. His music hit and he disappeared through the curtain to the roar of the crowd.

"I'm still trying to figure out what you see in him." a familiar deep voice said.

She turned to see Randy's blue eyes twinkling with mischief. She couldn't think of anything witty to respond with so she stayed silent. This only added to his amusement.

"Did you actually watch a couple of matches tonight?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Not yet." she replied trying to look anywhere but at him.

He was in his t-shirt and wrestling trunks and was driving her slightly mad by his close proximity to her.

"Were you going to ask what I wanted?" he wondered.

He was enjoying teasing her, she could hear it in his voice.

"I was hoping you would just come out with it." she said still avoiding eye contact.

"You left your phone in my car last night. I wanted to return it before it drives me insane." he rumbled, his voice so deep she had to strain to hear.

"I didn't even realize it was gone." she mumbled.

All of Adam's issues had kept her plenty occupied to not realize she was missing it.

"I've got it over here." he said taking her hand.

He had been trying to come up with an excuse to touch her. He wasn't used to fighting for attention. It was frustrating and intriguing at the same time.

Aiden looked back at the stroller, "She's not in the way is she? I don't want to just leave her there."

"She's fine, my bag is right here." he assured stopping a few feet away.

He knelt down to rummage through his bag he had thrown against the wall. Aiden took notice of his physique then, his muscular thighs in particular. They were twice her size by comparison.

He caught her looking, "Like what you see?"

"No…well yes, but…oh never mind" she stammered.

He laughed then.

"I'm glad you think I'm so funny" she smarted off.

"I think you're a lot of things actually." he smirked.

"Thank you for returning my annoying phone." she smiled.

"Sure." he grinned.

She turned to check on Lexie, but the stroller was no where to be found.

She looked around frantically for her baby.

"Where the hell did she go?" Randy thought aloud behind her.

She turned to him clutching his shirt in desperation, "Please help me find her."

He took her hand and practically dragged her behind him since her feet weren't cooperating. He asked everyone if they had seen a stroller or someone pushing one. No one had seen anything. Aiden was falling apart every second her child was missing. She was right there, mere feet away. She had only looked away for a second and that's all it took for her to vanish. Randy pulled her up to the man who had gotten her from the locker room.

"Have you seen anyone pushing a stroller?" Randy asked.

He saw the guy hesitate.

Randy let go of Aiden's hand and grabbed the man by his shirt throwing him against the wall, "What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything." the guy stammered.

Randy punched him several times and then slammed him back into the wall, "I said what the fuck did you see!"

The man gasped for the breath that Randy had knocked out of him, "A woman paid me twenty bucks to come and get you from the locker room. She told me what to say."

"What did she look like?" Randy growled.

The man had actually started crying, "Red hair, bright red hair, I saw her go that way, back to the locker room. I swear I thought she knew you."

Randy punched the guy again before taking Aiden by the arm and leading her back to the locker room.

Aiden was really panicking now. Addison had her child. Psychotic, drugged up, Addison had stolen Lexie. They stopped when they heard Lexie's cries from the room. Randy tried the door…it was locked. Aiden beat on the door frantically. Randy pulled her back and kicked at the door. Three massive kicks and the door gave way. Aiden rushed in. Lexie was still in the stroller, seemingly unharmed. Aiden picked her up and shakily began comforting her.

"She's not here." Randy announced, having checked the bathrooms, "Is she okay?"

"I think so. Just scared." Aiden cried.

Randy pulled her to him, trying to calm her.

Lexie was softly hiccupping.

"I I don't know what I'd do if my daughter went missing." he whispered, pressing his lips to her temple.

She pressed her cheek to his chest feeling lie she could faint from relief that nothing serious had happened.

"Did you know that red headed woman?" he questioned.

"I met her yesterday for the first time. She's Adam's ex." she said.

"Aiden? What happened? Are you and Lexie okay?" Alex asked out of breath having run around the entire backstage area to find his wife and child.

He and Randy shared a harsh glare before Alex pulled her to him.

"I-I turned my head for a second to get my phone and Addison took her." Aiden sobbed.

"Shh…shh…let's take you home. Its not safe for you or Lexie to be here anymore." he comforted.

Alex got Aiden's things and put them into the stroller and left with his family. After Alex and Aiden got all of her luggage they drove to the airport to board the flight that he had already booked.

He spoke for the first time when they were finally seated, "Are you okay? Do you need your medicine? I brought it just in case."

"No, I don't want to take it." she declined.

He held her hand, "I'm glad both of you are okay. Addison's very dangerous.."

Aiden stared at him, "Why did you do all of this? Aren't you going to yell at me for losing Lexie?"

He brought her hand up to his lips, "I don't blame you honey. You're a wonderful mother, I don't doubt that. You didn't intentionally lose her on purpose. Adam should have been a lot more responsible. You two should have never been left alone, especially with Addison hanging around. I don't question your judgment when it comes to our baby very often. I don't have to. Adam on the other hand…"

They both looked at Lexie who was quietly playing with a puzzle.

He lifted up the arm rest between them and pulled Aiden into him, "You're still my wife, I don't want anything to ever happen to you."

She laughed softly, "I keep forgetting that huh?"

He kissed her cheek, "I've kind of made it easy for you though haven't I?"

He held her the entire flight trying to gather up the courage to tell her that he was still in love with her, but by then they were exiting the plane.

* * *

"I promised Ajay we would stop by the house to see her. She's scared to death and so is Joey." he said as they pulled into the neighborhood.

"She called almost a hundred times." Aiden said.

Alex smiled, "Like I said, she was really worried. Do you think that you and Lexie could stay at the house for a couple of nights? It would make me feel better."

Aiden's brow creased, "I don't know Lex, that might be confusing…"

"I flew down and then drove with no sleep hardly to come and get you two, will you please do me this one favor?" he begged.

"I was coming home anyways after the show, you didn't have to do all of that." she informed.

"Two nights?" he bartered.

"One and we sleep in separate rooms." she haggled.

"Why?" he asked trying not to get mad.

"Because we still have a lot of stuff to work out, and I don't want there to be any temptation." she explained.

He was hurt that she was being so stand offish. He knew it was his fault to begin with, he just never expected her to be so cold and indifferent sometimes.

"Okay." he gave in reluctantly.

She got out and unbuckled Lexie from her seat.

"We're back." Alex called walking into the house behind Aiden.

Ajay and Joey ran at them and hugged her tightly.

"I was so worried about you and then you didn't answer your phone." Ajay admonished taking Lexie from her.

Aiden picked up Joey who was crying. He rested his blonde head on her shoulder, squeezing her neck tightly. She sat on the couch with him in her lap.

"Joey don't cry." she said sweetly, wiping his tears away.

He wrapped his arms back around her and laid his head back down on her shoulder. Chris came behind the couch and leaned down to kiss Aiden's cheek, "He's been very worried about you."

"It's okay. Lexie and I are fine." she whispered in his ear.

"So how was everything when you left?" Chris asked winking covertly.

Aiden shook her head because of Joey. She didn't want to risk upsetting him even more.

"Hey buddy, do you want to go and play with the girls? Lexie will be happy to see you." Alex tried.

Chris went to pick Joey up, but as soon as he touched him Joey began to scream. Aiden could feel his heart pounding as his grip tightened around her.

"A-Ten…" he cried.

"Okay, okay…calm down baby. You can stay right here with e okay." Aiden shushed.

He peeked around to make sure no one was near him. Ajay was fighting tears, Joey hadn't acted this way in years. Aiden finally talked him into playing with the girls awhile later.

"So what happened?" Chris asked after checking to make sure the kids were out of ear shot.

Aiden fidgeted nervously but launched into the story.

When she was finished Ajay hesitantly looked up, "So are you mad at us for not telling you about Joey?"

"No, Ajay. I was mad about what he went through because of his stupid parents. If it weren't for you and Chris loving and caring for him…I don't even want to think about what could have happened to him." She said, trying not to cry.

"Adam's not Mr. Nice Guy like you thought. I hate that you had to find out this way." Alex sighed.

Aide glared at him, annoyed by his attempt to understand her and Adam's relationship.

"I could say the same about you couldn't I?" she snapped before going to the kitchen.

Alex closed his eyes and counted to ten. He had really hoped that they were moving past their animosity towards each other. The past couple of weeks had almost seemed like they were getting back to normal and then something he said or did would set her off and it would be back to square one.

"I don't know what else to do with her. She fucking hates me now." he griped.

"She doesn't hate you, she just doesn't like you very much right now." Ajay smiled.

She was secretly glad that Alex had been making an attempt to win Aiden back. As much as she loved her brother, Alex and Aiden just seemed meant to be in her mind.

"I try not to make her mad and it seems to be the only thing that I do right as of late." he said quietly.

Ajay got up and went into the kitchen to talk to Aiden. It was the first time she had felt bad for Alex in months. Aiden was sitting at the kitchen island sipping on a glass of wine.

"What was that about?" she questioned leaning on the marble.

"As disappointed as I am with Adam and all of the bad decisions and mistakes he's made, Alex has no right to say anything about him. He doesn't know why Adam did the things eh did. He doesn't know the whole story." she fumed.

Ajay snorted, "_I_ don't even know the whole story. I've gotten every side of it _but _Adam's."

Aiden stared at her wine glass not knowing what to say. Ajay was flooded with memories of everyone begging Adam to just talk to them. To let them know how he felt. He had ignored them and flat out refused to say anything at all. When she looked back at Aiden, she realized she was hiding something.

"Did Adam talk to you? Did he tell you what was going through his head when all of this went down?" She pried.

She was hoping that she would finally be allowed to understand what was going through her brother's head.

"We talked about everything, yes." Aiden answered vaguely.

"Okay, so tell me. I can't believe you actually got him to open up.' she said excitedly.

She was finally going to hear the truth about why he flaked out on being Joey's father. She waited for Aiden to start talking…but she never did.

"So tell me. I've waited almost three years to hear his side of the story." she urged.

"I'm sorry Ajay…I can't. I think you should hear it from him." Aiden said.

Ajay's jaw dropped open, "I want to know…if you know you should tell me."

"Adam is going to have to tell you himself. It's not my place to tell you." she refused.

"Aiden, you're my best friend! I would tell you if I knew something like this." she said totally shocked that she was having to force her to talk about something this important.

Aiden finished her wine, "Ajay, please trust me. You need to hear it from Adam so that you'll be able to understand completely. I can't answer questions that I know you'll have for him because I don't know the answers. He does realize that he owes you and Chris at least that. I'll get him to talk to you."

Ajay was so frustrated. She had waited three years for answers from her brother and Aiden had gotten them out of him in a day.

"Why are you protecting him?" she asked.

"If I was protecting him I wouldn't have told you I knew anything." she pointed out, "This is between the two of you. It wouldn't be fair for me to be the middle man. You need to hear his side of the story from him."

It was frustrating to hear and try to accept that. She wanted answers now, but she had to trust Aiden for fear of never finding out. Alex came into the kitchen and went to Aiden.

He hugged her from behind and whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry."

She nodded once.

He stood back up to his full height, "Are you ready to leave? Its getting late.

"Leave? Where are you going?" Chris asked when he came into the kitchen.

"I'm staying at our house for the night. I would feel a little safer only because Addison doesn't know where Alex and I live, not that I think she's going to show up or anything."

"I think that's a good idea." Ajay smiled.

"We're ready, our bags are still in the car." she said.

"I'll got get baby angel then." Alex smiled.

He was thrilled they were going to stay with him. He met Aiden at the front door. Ajay and Chris hugged Lexie.

"We'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight." Ajay smiled at Lexie.

Joey came running to them screaming, tears falling again.

"A-Ten!" he yelled holding his arms up.

She knelt down, "What's wrong?"

He threw his arms around her neck, "Don't leave me. Take me with you."

"Joey, they're coming back over tomorrow. They're going to their house with Uncle Skunky." Ajay explained trying to take him from Aiden.

He screamed and held Aiden tighter when he felt Ajay try to pull him.

"A-Ten, I want to stay with you." he coughed.

She looked up at Ajay and Chris, unsure of what to do.

"Why do you want to go with Aiden?" Chris asked.

"So 'the mean lady' won't get her or Lou. Her take me instead." he whimpered, his voice muffled from pressing his face into Aiden's neck.

Ajay welled up then. It broke her hear to hear him say that.

Joey let go of Aiden as she sat him on the ground, "Mommy, get my stuff please."

Chris frowned, "'The mean lady' isn't going to get anyone."

Joey covered his ears and closed his eyes and crouched down into a ball screaming so he couldn't hear Chris.

"I'll go get his things." Ajay gave in.

She couldn't bear to see him this way. Aiden pulled Joey back to her to comfort him. She stood up with him back in her arms.

Chris put a hand on his son's back, "She went to get your bag okay?"

Joey sniffled and nodded.

Ajay came back with Joey's bag and handed it to Aiden, "Can Mommy have a kiss?"

Joey turned slight and kissed Ajay, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too." she said sadly

Chris hugged Joey goodbye and watched them leave. He held Ajay tightly knowing she was upset.

"He'll be okay." Chris said quietly.

"I know. I could literally kill Addison for messing him up like she has though." she cried.

He sighed deeply, "I feel the same way."

* * *

**_Sorry for any typos... _**

**_REVIEW! kthxbai!_**


	21. Mending Fences

**_I'm on a roll with this story, but I haven't forgotten about the others I promise :)_**

* * *

Adam got through with his match and rushed back to the locker room to check on Aiden and Lexie. He saw that the door had been broken and it sent chills through him. Randy was the only person in there.

"Where are Aiden and Lexie at?" he asked seeing that their stuff was also missing.

"They left with some guy with a mohawk Randy said slowly.

Adam growled under his breath, "That bastard! How long ago did they leave?"

"A little while ago. That psycho ex of yours stole her kid. Can't say I blame her for leaving with him." Randy said.

"Lexie?" Adam half shouted.

Randy put his hands up, "I guess it was supposed to be a prank or something. She just moved the stroller from the hall to in here. Aiden freaked out pretty bad and then that guy showed up."

Adam shoved his things into his bag. Maybe if he was fast enough he could catch them at the hotel. He pulled out his phone to try and reach Aiden and ran right into someone. He grabbed their arm to keep them from falling.

"_You…" _he said seeing the shock of red hair.

She smiled and hugged him tightly, pressing her cheek into his chest, "I knew you would come find me. I don't care that you had another kid, I still love you."

He looked down at her with the most intense rage he'd ever experienced in his life.

"Get off of me you filthy disgusting whore." he snapped shoving her by the shoulders away from him.

The look on her face clearly was one of shock. She had not expected him to react like that.

"You don't love her Adam…you love me! She's not good enough for you, can't you see? I saved you from her." she said reaching out for him.

"You have ruined my life…AGAIN! She's the best girl I've ever been with and you fucked it up! Intentionally!" he shouted.

She looked at him like he was being a stubborn child, "Of course I did. She didn't deserve you, you never wanted to be a father anyways, I did you a favor just like you did me one with Joey. She's not even your type."

She laughed recalling seeing them together for the first time. He was a rebel, she was a _cheerleader_.

He grabbed her shoulders again and shook her before getting back in her face, "Get it through your head, I. Don't. Want. To. Be. With. You! EVER! If I never saw you again it would be too soon. You've never meant anything to me. I don't even _like_ you! I can't stand to be around you. You make me sick, you make me want to puke anytime you're around."

Tears fell down her face. She could feel people staring at them. She was humiliated and heartbroken.

"You don't mean that." she whispered, her hands coming up to frame his face, "You're confused that's all."

He was shaking with anger, "I _hate_ you Addison. I never want to see you again. Don't come near me or my family ever again."

He stepped away from her, letting her go, afraid that he would literally choke the life out of her.

"Adam…" She sputtered taking a shaky step toward him.

"Leave me alone. In fact, do me a favor and go die alright. Crazy fucking bitch." he snarled before turning on his heel, heading toward the exit.

Addison hugged herself and lifted her chin as she rushed down the hall in the opposite direction.

Adam got to his hotel room and threw his bag across the room and collapsed onto the bed. They were already gone. He was too late. Alex had whisked them away already.

He got up after a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself to book the next flight to Detroit. It was about time somebody put Alex in his place.

* * *

"Joey go brush your teeth. It's past your bedtime." Aiden said when the movie ended.

He hopped off the couch and ran upstairs.

"I forgot how good The Jungle Book was." Alex said standing up to stretch.

Aiden smiled, "Not one of my favorites, but at least it helped calm Joey down some."

He carefully picked Lexie up from Aiden's lap, "I'll go put her down if you want to call Ajay."

She stood and kissed her sleeping daughter's cheek. After she got off of the phone she walked him down to Riley's room. He dug his heels into the floor, "I sleep with you and Skunky."

"You are perfectly safe here. There's no need to worry." she assured.

He poked out his lip and squeezed her hand. She sighed, giving in. She could say no to that face. She went to the guest room and changed into a silk nightgown before pulling back the covers.

"Not here…with Skunky, A-Ten." Joey protested, "Lou Lou too."

She frowned at him, "Uncle Skunky snores…and Lexie is already in her room."

Joey took her hand and began pulling her with all of his might. She took a deep breath as Joey pulled her down the hall to the open door at the end. Alex was stacking the pillows in the corner just like she used to do before they got into bed. He looked up, standing only in his boxers.

"He insists we sleep in here." she announced softly.

"That would be perfect." he smiled.

She closed the door as Joey went and jumped on the king size bed.

"I uh…didn't want to put Lexie in her room. I hope that's alright." he said pulling the covers back.

Aiden peeked into the crib, "That's fine."

He boldly went behind her and circled his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I know we still have some things we need to work on…but you and Lexie being here has made me the happiest I've been in months."

Aiden leaned her head against his, "She's smiling in her sleep, she must be happy too."

He kissed her shoulder, "Let's go to bed."

Aiden got in bed beside Joey who snuggled into her contentedly. Alex smiled before flipping the lamp off. After a few minutes Aiden and Joey were sound asleep. Alex couldn't take his eyes off of them. They were both asleep on their sides, Aiden with her arm beneath his head and draped across his stomach. His small hands rested lightly on hers. The strings to his heart were being tugged and reattached to the woman he had married.

It always got to him when he saw her with the kids. He was reminded why he fell in love with her in the first place. She was so loving, nurturing, and gentle it made him miss the relationship they had before he ruined it. He remembered the look on her face when he first handed Lexie to her. It could make him tear up at any moment. He had serious reservations about having another child, but he desperately wanted to see that look on her face again. Even the looks she would give him when she passed him in the hall or from across the room would suffice. He just wanted to be the reason she smiled again.

Making her upset and having a void where she and Lexie used to be was unbearable now. He missed being able to roll over and see her next to him. He _hated_ it actually. Which was why he made a promise to himself right then and there that he was going tot do everything he could to get his life back together. His life with Aiden and Lexie. Adam was going to have to deal with it. He was getting his family back.

* * *

Around two in the morning Adam showed up at Ajay's house. He was surprised to see her still up.

"Is Aiden asleep?" he asked dropping his suitcases.

"No, she's not here." Ajay answered, her voice monotone.

"Where the hell is she? And don't tell me with Alex." he grumbled.

"She went home with him, Joey went with them because of Addison. He's been scared to death." she said with a heavy sigh.

"That asshole! _I _was scared to death when I got back from the ring only to find out that Addison was up to her old tricks and that Aiden and Lexie were nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, I'm going over there to tell him how big of a fucking douche he is." Adam declared.

"Don't you dare. Joey's been traumatized enough as it is." Ajay shouted, "I've got a better idea…why don't you tell me what you told Aiden?"

His mouth snapped shut like it always did when that subject was brought up. Ajay looked at him with that same pleading look she always had, "Please Adam, don't you think you owe it to me? What more do I have to do to get the truth from you?"

"I'm going upstairs." he dismissed, grabbing his suitcase and retreating.

She rested her elbows on her knees in frustration. Why wouldn't he just talk to her about Joey? She had done everything for Adam and yet he still wouldn't give her the answers she so desperately wanted.

* * *

Aiden woke up the next morning and carefully got out of bed. She tip toed to her closet and changed so she wouldn't wake Lexie or Joey up. She was glad they were both sleeping in, both had had a late night last night. Alex was in the kitchen fixing her coffee to put on the tray of breakfast he had fixed for her. He looked up just in time to see the smile he had been hoping for.

"Good morning." he greeted, "I was going to surprise you."

"You did." she said sitting at the table where he sat the tray in front of her, "You even made flowers."

She picked up one of the origami flowers he had folded for her and put it behind her ear.

"And the 'Shelley Special', Strawberry Pop-Tarts with Cap' N Crunch cereal."

She couldn't help but laugh. She missed his goofy side sometimes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked sitting beside her.

She nodded as she picked around her pop-tart.

"I like having you here." he admitted with the most adorable twitch of his lips, "Maybe you and Lexie can spend the night more often."

Aiden shrugged, "Maybe."

She picked around her breakfast some more when she noticed him staring at her, "What?"

"I forgot how beautiful you are in the morning." he said moving her hair out of her eyes.

He trailed his hand to her neck, gently pulling her closer to him. The chemistry they had always shared was being reignited. His heart was racing in his ears when his lips met hers. He pulled away lingering a lot longer than the last time he had kissed her.

"Alex…" she whispered.

He leaned forward and captured her mouth, kissing her more forcefully, more desperately. He was relieved when she allowed him to. He pulled her onto his lap as she crossed her arms behind his neck playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. The doorbell rang shrilly startling them both.

"Fuck them." he groaned, his teeth grazing her neck.

"What about the kids, they'll wake up." she stopped him and stood up, "I'll go get it."

"Whoa!" he grabbed her, "Stay here. I'm not taking any chances with Addison still out there."

He jogged to the door hearing the bell chime again.

"Chill out with the ringing…" He called as he opened the door.

Before he could even register who was there, he was on his back, blood gushing from his mouth.

"What the fuck?" he roared.

Adam shook his hand, his cut knuckles stinging, "I think its time we settled our differences motherfucker."

* * *

**_Thanks for reading now review please :)_**

**_*Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and Alice Jericho for their reviews, and to babygirleahrox and xSamiliciousx (my newest reviewers) for their input and alerts/favorites!*_**

**_You Rock!_**


	22. Southern Comfort

**_Thanks to Kennedy, Alice Jericho, xSamiliciousx, and babygirlleahrox for their reviews :) _**

**_Going to TNA tonight! Super Excited!_**

* * *

"Are you serious right now? You ring my doorbell and fucking deck me in the mouth?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Yes I'm serious! You're not going to just walk in and steal my girl!" Adam retorted sarcastically.

Alex was back on his feet and with a swiftness Adam had underestimated had landed a solid right hook to Adam's jaw.

"_You're girl?_ She's _my wife!_" he bellowed.

Aiden came running into the room, "What is going on?"

"Just trying to teach this _boy_ some manners." Adam glared at Alex.

Alex smirked, "Yeah, well this _boy_ was about to fuck _your _girl."

Adam swung again, missing this time. Alex ducked under his punch and drove his shoulder into Adam's midsection. They both fell down the steps of the porch and onto the lawn. Loud grunts were emitted from them both as they rolled around throwing punches at each other, and yelling obscenities. Aiden watched in furious outrage as they scrapped on the ground. She was so done with the two of them being at each others throats over her like she was some prize at a demented carnival.

She slammed the door, they could kill each other for all she cared. Through the baby monitor she heard Joey and Lexie were both up. She went upstairs and quickly go them both dressed and packed, ready to go.

"I'm hungry A-Ten." Joey whined from his car seat.

She finished buckling Lexie in and got in the driver's seat, "We'll be at your house in a few minutes and I'll fix you Frenchies okay baby?"

He smiled and clapped his hands happily. She pulled out of the garage seeing both men still going at it on the lawn.

"Damn idiots." She muttered speeding off to Ajay's.

* * *

Chris came downstairs sleepily smelling breakfast being cooked.

"Morning Daddy." Joey greeted cheerily from he table.

"Morning." He said stopping were Aiden was at the stove.

He put a hand on her waist and kissed her cheek, "Is everything okay?"

She was in her "OCD, cook for the army, clean like there's an inspection" mode.

She nodded tightly and handed him a plate of food and a cup of coffee. He narrowed his eyes meaning to question her more, but the aroma of French toast under his nose stopped him. He sat at the table ruffling Joey's hair and smiling at Lexie who gave him a toothy grin.

"Aiden, you're here early. Everything alright?" Ajay asked as she came into the kitchen with Kenzie on her hip.

"Just _peachy_." Aiden answered sarcastically.

"Did Adam upset you? I think he slept in your room last night…where is he anyways?" she asked quietly.

"Mommy, have Frenchies with me." Joey called pulling her seat out for her.

"I'm coming baby." she said distracted, "Cookie what happened?"

Aiden sat the spatula down in frustration, "Well lets see…I gave into Alex' charm yet again and almost got carried away, luckily your brother showed up and started a fight to bring me back to the reality that I have horrible taste in men. I mean seriously, why do I only date bad boys with enough baggage to fill a plane?"

Ajay shook her head, "Wait, wait, Adam and Alex were fighting? Like arguing fighting, or MMA fighting?"

"MMA…I got the kids and left them on the lawn to finish each other off. I'm over that crap." she said turning off the stove and then starting on the dishes in the sink.

Ajay almost laughed if she wasn't so worried about Adam and Alex. At least her brother was finally good on his word for once.

She sat next to Joey with Kenzie in her lap, "Probably need to go over there after we eat and hide the bodies."

Chris smirked to himself, glancing up at Aiden as he licked syrup off of his fork, "Aiden, we've got a dishwasher babe…"

"Joshua!" she snapped, her whiskey eyes glaring up at him.

He winced, "Right…I know, shut up."

When the dishes were done she grabbed Lexie from her car seat, "We're going to hit the road, we have a long drive."

"You're going to Savannah?" Ajay asked.

Aiden nodded as she wiped Lexie's hands and face off.

"You're driving?" Chris questioned even more skeptically.

"I've done it before. Mama and Nana have been bugging me to come down and now seems like the perfect time don't you think?" she said rolling her eyes still annoyed.

She hugged everyone goodbye after packing a few more things, "I'll be back in a few days."

"Want me to call you with an update on dumb and dumber?" Ajay smiled.

"No, actually, if you could not bring either of them up that would be fantastic." she smiled.

"You got it." Ajay smiled waving as they pulled out of the drive.

"She's so different, in a good way you know? She's really gaining her independence with everything she has to endure." Chris mused.

Ajay laughed, "Alright Shakespeare, you ready to go and witness the carnage?"

"This should be fun…_NOT_!" he joked doing his best impression of Borat.

* * *

Alex and Adam were sprawled out on the lawn heaving for oxygen, their fight at a mutual standstill. Their clothes were in tatters speckled with blood. Every inch of both of their bodies were either sore, swollen, bruised, or bloodied.

"You fight like a bitch! What kind of dude pulls hair in a fight?" Adam gasped.

"This isn't fucking Fight Club, shit head. I can fight how I want." Alex wheezed.

"Yeah…like a _bitch_." Adam muttered kicking Alex in the thigh.

Alex punched Adam in the ribs, both groaning feebly from the other's retaliation.

"I hate you so much." Alex laughed.

"I fucking hate you too." Adam shot back.

Alex groaned, "I had Aiden on my lap…we totally would have hooked up if you wouldn't have come along."

"She would have stopped you trust me, she would have remembered how big of a douche bag you are and cut you off." Adam scoffed.

"She still loves me and I still love her. You can't get rid of me, we have a daughter together." Alex grumbled flexing his sore jaw.

Adam chuckled under his breath, "She doesn't love you like she used to, and Lexie is the _only_ reason she's still with you anyways. She would be with me in a heartbeat if we both wanted that. You're nothing more than an annoying distraction for us."

"If she didn't love me she would have divorced me already." Alex pointed out."That's a good idea actually, I'll make sure to talk about that with her after I go make up with her." Adam smiled, "Maybe a nice dinner, hot oil massage, sex in the shower…she really likes it when I have her pinned against the wall in my arms.."

Alex launched himself at Adam again their fight renewed. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen. Chris and Ajay came running over to them.

"Break it up right now!" Ajay yelled grabbing her brother by his shoulders while Chris grabbed Alex.

"Have both of you lost your minds?" Chris gasped struggling to keep his grip on Alex.

"He started it!" Alex pointed at Adam.

"Real mature you loser, actually you did when you came down and took Aiden and Lexie." he retorted.

"Again with that? I was protecting them! Something you **SUCK **at!" Alex shouted ready to fight again.

"I took care of Addison, I told her I never wanted to see her again and to stay away from us." Adam clarified.

"Yeah because that worked so well last time." Alex said sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter now anyways because Aiden left with Lexie while you two were out here doing this whole alpha male bullshit." Chris informed.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Alex and Adam accused each other at the same time.

"Both of you are idiots and neither one of you are to go chasing after her either. If I have to hold you both hostage I will. Don't bother her and I mean it." Ajay warned.

She looked at them both from head to toe, "Come inside so I can bandage you up."

"He's not coming in my house, he can stay out here and get an infection for all I care." Alex balked.

Ajay punched him in the arm, "Shut up Alex, you're such a bitch."

Adam laughed and followed them inside, "Told ya."

Ajay punched him too, "Shut up Adam, you're a bitch too!"

Alex snickered as they sat in the kitchen so Ajay could clean them both up.

* * *

"Sunshine! I'm so excited you came down finally!" Caroline called rushing from the house.

"What are all of these people doing here?" Aiden wondered giving her mother a hug.

"Your Daddy invited his hunt club to the house. We're barbecuing a hog out back that they killed this morning."

Aiden smiled smelling the aroma floating around the house, "I haven't had Daddy's barbeque in forever."

Lexie let out a tiny scream as all of the dogs and Spike chased her in the yard sniffing at her buttercup dress.

Caroline scooped her up, "And it will be Boo's first time."

Aiden followed her mother inside wondering why she ever left her childhood home. The magnolias were just blooming, the salty air blew the Spanish moss lightly. The candles flickered in their suspended hurricane glasses throwing colors onto the wrap around porch. Frogs sang softly from the marsh, shrimp boats were floating out in the distance. This was her heaven.

"Well hello beautiful." Nana greeted as they came into the kitchen.

"Hey Nana, need some help?" she asked kissing her cheek.

"Take that pitcher of sweet tea and lemonade out there for me, will you lovely?"

Lexie teetered after her mother to the back porch.

"There's my Sunshine! I didn't know you were coming down angel." Daniel boomed in his thick southern accent.

He left the grill to whisk Lexie from the stairs. Aiden laughed as her daughter giggled as she was held up into the air.

She sat the pitchers down on the beverage table, "I found out you were barbecuing and hopped in the car so I wouldn't miss it."

Laughter filled the backyard as Daniel brought them over to admire his skill.

"Taste that and tell me its not the best I've cooked." Daniel boasted.

Aiden smiled at her father's friends, "He's not modest at all is he?"

She tasted the meat and kissed her father's cheek, "I think you've perfect it. Another hour and it'll be a masterpiece."

"One of the many reasons we keep you around baby." he teased, "I've got her, go grab some food."

"Thank you Daddy." Aiden said squeezing his hand.

She fixed a plate after her mother and Nana kicked her out of the kitchen. The other wives were already helping in there anyways. She sat on her favorite swing under the big oak tree. She kicked her shoes off and pushed off the cool grass to gently sway. She laughed when she sipped her tea realizing Nana had spiked it with Firefly vodka. No wonder everyone was having a great time. She raised her glass to Nana through the kitchen window who returned the gesture with a sly wink.

She watched Lexie shyly teeter around with some of the older kids after her father proudly showed her off to his buddies.

This really was exactly what she needed. To be home, to be around her family and the lifestyle she was accustomed to. This was what she was missing, cookouts with friends for no reason, lightening bugs, crickets chirping, the smell of hay and rain, fishing off the dock, shrimp and grits in the morning.

This was how Aiden wanted Lexie to live and grow up, not with feuding parents and unstable boyfriends and girlfriends. She laughed sourly wondering how long she could hide out here until Alex' fear of her father wore off and he came looking for his daughter.

"Something funny?"

Aiden took her eyes off of the marsh and looked at the person in front of her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked with a grin.

* * *

**_See...now you've GOT to review to guess who it is!_**


	23. I Wanna Be Bad

**_Sorry for the long wait, computer problems, thanks to Sarcastic Nightmare, Alice Jericho, babygirleahrox, xSamiliciousx, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for their reviews and patience for this chapter. Love you guys!_**

* * *

Randy stood with that panty dropping smirk in front of her, raising his glass of tea to his lips. Aiden stared at him trying to figure out just how and why he was here.

"Are you going to answer my question?" She asked.

He stopped the swing and sat beside her, "Friend of a friend of a friend."

"What does that mean?" She frowned, "You don't just show up down here for some barbeque."

His eyes twinkled mischievously, "Remember Teddy?"

She nodded.

"He fishes with a guy who is that guys brother-in-law. I pulled a few strings to get the invite." he grinned.

"Don't you think that's a bit stalkerish? I've met you twice and then you show up at my parents house?" She grimaced.

He was undeterred, "You're very captivating. It was bothering me that I couldn't get you out of my head, so I thought, why fight it?"

She scoffed, "I really don't get everyone's fascination with me. I'm not as interesting as you think. I'm rather boring actually."

"I wanted to see for myself." he said.

"So you don't think it's weird that you showed up here? You didn't even know that I was going to be here." she said.

He shrugged, "Shot in the dark I know, but I was curious so I came anyways. Tell me, does your grandmother pinch everyone's ass or was it just mine?"

Aiden blushed, "I can't believe she did that you."

"She said I was an eight, which kinda hurt my feelings. I was sure I would be a nine." he joked.

She laughed then, demurely ducking her head.

Randy pulled her chin up, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

She bit her lip, "Umm…okay…I guess."

He took her plate, threw it away and refilled her cup, "Let's go."

Aiden looked around for Lexie spying her in Nana's lap. She had a knowing smile on her face and shooed her on. Aiden linked arms with Randy as they set off into the moon lit night.

"Your family is great, but I think Nana is my favorite." he smiled.

She giggled, "That's how it usually goes."

They walked around the property for an hour or so. They went to the stables, to the creek, to the docks, and finally ended up in one of the fields that overlooked the marshes.

"It's kind of spooky here." Randy commented sitting on the ground beside her.

"Only if you're not from here. I find it to be romantic." she sighed dreamily.

Randy surveyed the scenery again, "Maybe a dark romantic, like from a vampire novel."

She laughed and swatted at him, "Whatever."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, crashing his lips onto hers. Her eyes flew open in shock as she stayed completely still. He pulled away, his ice blue eyes burning into hers

"The only thing scary is you." she breathed.

His large hand rested on her cheek, "Do I scare you?"

"Yes…a little." she whispered.

His brow furrowed as he leaned back to her, slower this time, more deliberate. He pressed his full lips to hers, his tongue snaking out to meet hers. Her eyes closed reflexively as he took her mouth over. He explored every crevice of her mouth as she feebly accommodated him. Her hands were aching from the grip she had on his shirt. Only when he pulled away again did she realize she was laying down. Her chest was heaving for air that he had deprived her of.

He tilted her head sideways with his nose as he kissed his way along her jaw line, "I want you."

She froze, "I don't know Randy."

He looked at her then with that intense stare that terrified her, "Let me persuade you."

She was trembling then, the combination of his words and the way he looked at her were both unnerving. Not to mention the fact that she was insanely turned on. He was gently working her into a frenzy, her head was spinning with his manipulation of her. He sacrificed a hand to undo his pants. Aiden was rolling her body into his, she couldn't believe what she was doing. This wasn't like her at all. She had never been this easy. You could count her sexual encounters on less than one hand and two of those within the last two years. A flash of sliver in the moonlight stirred her from her thoughts. Randy was biting into a condom wrapper to open it up.

"Randy…maybe we shouldn't." she protested as his hand disappeared with the condom.

He spit the wrapper to the side and lowered his mouth onto hers again. She flinched when she felt him moving her panties to the side.

"Randy…wait…" she pleaded.

"Shh…" he breathed joining their bodies slowly.

She winced and whimpered in discomfort.

"Stay still baby." he murmured into her neck.

He pulled out and drove into her, covering her mouth just as she cried out. She should have been outraged by his actions, she should have been fighting him off instead she was arching her back and begging for more. She didn't care about her morals or values anymore, she wanted to be bad. She wanted to behave the way Alex and Adam behaved. She wanted this she decided…she wanted Randy.

He took his hand from her mouth finding his rhythm. She bit her lip trying to repress her screams as he turned her inside out. Randy grunted and let out a long growl as he snapped his hips into hers finding his release. She was already on her third orgasm by the time he joined her. He collapsed in a heap.

"Sorry, it's been awhile for me." he gasped.

She didn't respond except for to find his mouth to kiss. He got off of her a little while later and rolled onto his back to adjust himself and refasten his pants. Aiden stared up at the sky, a sly grin on her face.

"I think maybe we should head back." she suggested standing and brushing herself off.

He was surprised by her unawkwardness.

He stood and jogged to catch up with her, picking her up and spinning her around as she screamed, "Where are you rushing off to?"

"Let me go." she laughed.

"Not until you tell me I can see you again." he bargained.

"It's a possibility." she laughed.

"Not good enough, I want a yes." he said spinning her faster.

"Yes! Okay, stop before I throw up." she squealed.

He stood her back up and kissed her passionately. She playfully pushed him after she slipped off her shoes and took off running. Her dress and hair were billowing in the wind as she ran. He caught up with her snatching her off of her feet again as she laughed.

"You crazy girl." he smiled, spanking her butt.

He turned his back to her, "Hop on, I'll carry you back to the house."

She jumped on his back wrapping her arms around his neck to hold on, her shoes in her hand. She kissed his neck teasing him as they made their way back up to the house.

"You guys party all night?" Randy laughed setting her down and kneeling to put her shoes on for her.

"Sometimes." she smiled.

They slipped back up to the party. Randy fixed a plate of barbeque and resumed his seat on the swing hoping that Aiden would join him. She had gotten Lexie from inside, she was nodding off trying to watch a movie. She blushed seeing Randy sitting on the swing looking at her expectantly. She sat back down beside him, Lexie asleep on her shoulder.

"Every time I see her it makes me miss Alanna." he admitted.

"I don't know how you do it. I can't stand her being away from me for the weekend with Alex, and she's just down the street." Aiden said kissing her daughter's forehead.

He watched her fawn over Lexie, "You're a really great mom. She's lucky to be so loved."

"She's the only thing that's constant in my life right now." Aiden said, almost drifting away from the conversation, "Everything is so confusing back home."

"I know how you feel." Randy agreed.

He looked deep in thought, "I know we don't really know each other, me showing up here was on a whim and probably freaked you out, but we have a lot in common. We're both dealing with our spouses while trying to juggle and shield our children…and for some odd reason you're the first person I've said anything about this to. It's like I can talk to you about this stuff."

Aiden stared at him pensively.

"You still do kind of scare me." she admitted softly.

"I'm only brooding at work." he smiled.

"I guess we can see where this takes us." she smiled back.

"I'd like that." he said.

* * *

Alex had followed Ajay to her house, not really wanting to be alone. He trudged inside and dropped onto the couch. Joey came running past him and into his playroom.

Kenzie teetered over to him, staring at him with her electric blue eyes, "Moo moo."

The corner of his mouth turned up as he picked her up, "What do you want? Are you going to tell Uncle Skunky how stupid he was for losing his family?"

Her chubby hands went to his face feeling the stubble on his chin. She bounced on his legs smiling happily before falling onto him in a great big hug. Ajay stopped what she was doing when she saw that. Alex was usually affectionate towards her children but there was a deeper meaning behind it this time. Kenzie whimpered and squirmed when Alex hugged her too long. He let her go and she slid off of his lap to the floor.

"Alright Lex, tell me what's going on." she stated taking a seat in her chair.

"I'm the biggest idiot in the world." he said.

"I knew that already. What's really bothering you?" she teased.

When his facial expression never changed she knew that he was serious.

"Lex.." she frowned.

"I had everything Ajay. I had a perfect wife who cooked, cleaned, and doted on me and our child. I was happy with them, I loved them. Why did I mess it up? Why did I keep going out and breaking her heart? Why did it take me this long to realize all of this?" he rambled putting his face in his hands.

Ajay chewed her lip in thought. It was unsettling to see him so remorseful. Alex was never like that…ever.

"Maybe she'll talk to you after everything calms down. I know deep down she still loves you too, but she's just so tired of being jerked around. She's really gaining her independence, Lex, she's not going to tolerate fights between you and my brother. She'll drop you both and focus on Lexie." Ajay paused, "I'll never tell Adam this, but I've been rooting for you to get back with her."

His eyes were filled with hope as he looked up at her, "Really?"

She blew out a breath, "I don't know why after everything you've put her through, you two are meant for each other. You're supposed to be together with Lexie."

They turned to see Adam come into the kitchen.

"I can't get away from you. Seriously, do you want to be me or something?" Adam asked still in the mood to fight.

Aiden wasn't here and it was because of Alex, he just knew it.

Alex laughed sarcastically, "Go fuck yourself. Like I said she's still my wife, so that makes you the poser asshole."

"Whatever you say I'm done worrying about you and your bullshit. When Aiden comes back to me, maybe you'll realize that its over between the two of you." Adam griped.

Alex stood up, his cocky swagger back.

"You're going to have to fight for her because I want her back and I'm not stopping until I get her."

Adam laughed, "No problem. I don't mind making you look even more like a fool. There's no way she would go back to you after she's been with me."

"You're not even dating…you're just _friends_, so I think I'll take my chances. I'm out of here." Alex pointed out.

"Let the games begin." Adam smiled.

* * *

After a few relaxing days down in Savannah Aiden decided it was time to return to Detroit. Chris and Ajay were down in Orlando so it would be nice for her to settle back into the house minus all the questions and conversation. They arrived late the next afternoon.

"Hey Cookie." Ajay greeted, her smile faltering when she saw Aiden's tears.

"What's wrong honey?" Chris asked, going to her side immediately.

"Addison is dead." she sniffled softly.

* * *

**_If you review...I will update...lol_**


	24. You're With HIM?

**_So in celebration of fixing my computer, you shall be rewarded with another chapter! _**

* * *

Aiden glanced up at her friends who seemed completely indifferent.

"How?" Ajay asked, her voice normal.

"Overdose…they found her in an alley." she said, her lip quivering.

Ajay shrugged, "Glad we don't have to worry about that anymore. It was going to happen eventually."

Aiden looked between her and Chris in disbelief, "You don't think this is sad at all?"

Chris saw her anger rising, "She was an addict, it was bound to happen."

"You don't even care though. She was a major part of your lives at one point and now she's gone and you don't care." Aiden said more tears falling.

"And the whole time she was a part of our lives she did nothing but try to ruin it. Are you forgetting all of the horrible things she did to me, and especially Joey? Not to mention she kidnapped Lexie. Forgive me if I'm not very sympathetic toward her." Ajay shot back.

"I haven't forgotten what she did, believe me, but at the same time she gave birth to your son. Joey wouldn't' be he here without her. She only wanted to be loved, she only wanted a meaningful relationship with someone…anyone." Aiden cried.

Ajay crossed her arms stubbornly. She had been done with Addison a long time ago.

Chris, ever the understanding one, pulled Aiden into his arms, "You couldn't have saved her. She was too far gone to be helped. She loved drugs more than anything else."

"I'm not forgiving all the things she did, I'm not….but I can't help but think about how this could effect poor Joey down the long run." she sniffled putting her arms around his waist and her cheek on his chest.

"You don't have to worry about that because I don't plan on telling him about her. He's been traumatized enough and thankfully anything she had planned died with her. I understand that you're a sympathetic person, but Addison doesn't deserve it. Not after everything she's done." Ajay dismissed.

Aiden pulled away from Chris and wiped her eyes, "I'm going to go lay down for a little while."

Chris frowned after she left, he hated to see her upset.

He looked at Ajay who was glaring at him and threw his hands up in defense, "I'm on your side babe, I'm glad we don't have to think about Addison either."

She nodded smugly.

"What's this about Addison?" Adam asked coming into the kitchen.

"She died from an overdose this morning apparently." Ajay stated.

"That's good news right? Oh well, it was bound to happen anyways.' he said indifferently.

"I can't believe how insensitive everyone is, my goodness, she _died_. Yes she brought us harm, but she gave you a wonderful gift too." Aiden griped as she went to the fridge with Lexie who had interrupted her plans for a nap.

She sat her daughter on the counter while she prepared her snack.

Adam came up behind her, his hands going to her waist as his lips found her neck, "Lets not talk about it anymore baby. I missed you."

Her hands stilled, "Can you not right now, please."

He stepped away from her confused by her attitude, "Addison's not _that_ important."

"A certain fight that you started a few days ago is. I haven't forgotten that." she hissed.

"Seriously? Look, I'm sorry I let him get to me like that but you've got to understand where I'm coming from. I didn't know where you were and I freaked out a little bit." he explained.

"You knew what you were doing." She glared, cutting her phone off that had just started ringing.

That didn't go unnoticed by him, "Okay, umm…sorry for standing up for you."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't give me that. You didn't do it for me, you did it for your own ego."

Something was up with her, she was never this combative. His suspicions were confirmed when her phone rang again.

"You gonna get that?" he asked narrowing his eyes at her.

She hit the ignore button again and ignored him as well.

He ran his tongue across his teeth, "Who was that Aiden."

"Nobody." she retorted.

He watched her closely, seeing through her lie. Ajay and Chris were standing by silently, not believing what was unfolding before them. Aiden's phone went off again.

She snatched it up, "I can't talk right now, I'll call you later."

She hung up the phone quickly.

"Who _was_ that?" Adam asked biting his temper back.

Aiden laughed, "None of your business."

"I would like to know who it was." he rephrased, hoping for a different result.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have to tell you anything." she said.

"Are you serious?" he asked skeptically, "We've been together for months."

"We aren't dating, we never have been. I don't have to answer to you just like you don't have to answer to me…remember?" she asked.

He stood there, mouth agape as she walked off with Lexie. Never in his life had he ever been so thoroughly put in his place. She was right and he knew she was, that's what pissed him off the most.

He turned to Ajay and Chris, "Who was that on the phone?"

They both shrugged.

"You don't know, or you won't tell me?" he growled.

"We don't know. She hasn't mentioned anyone to us, so stop being an asshole." Ajay replied smartly.

He threw his hands up, "Of course you think I'm wrong. Go figure."

"You made it abundantly clear that the two of you were not official on several occasions." Ajay reminded him.

"We have a sexual relationship, she could have at least fucking told me she was hooking up with somebody else." Adam said, frustrated that he had to spell it out for them.

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" she asked rolling her eyes.

"She didn't have to, that's the point, you don't know if she's with anybody anyways." Chris interjected, not liking that Adam thought he could say whatever he wanted to about Aiden.

Adam laughed, "She's seeing somebody else, I could see it all over her face."

"What's the real issue here Adam? Are you mad because she's with someone else, or that you got dumped at your own game?" Chris asked.

"Fuck you Sabin." Adam shouted, turning to his sister, "You just sit here and let him take up for her like that? He's your husband, not hers."

Ajay laughed, "So typical, you get all pissy when you get brought out, and no I don't mind at all that he takes up for Aiden, at least someone does. It doesn't matter to me at all." she smiled confidently.

He ran his fingers through his hair, "Well two can play at that game."

He marched through the house and slammed the door when he left.

"I wanna know who she was on the phone with." Chris grinned excitedly.

"You took the words right out of my mouth. I'll be back." Ajay laughed, giving him a kiss.

She knocked tentatively on Aiden's door.

"Come in." she called from the bed.

She and Lexie were watching Project Runway.

Ajay sat beside them, "It is seriously funny that she gets into this show."

Aiden smiled down at her daughter, "If she had wine in her sippy cup she would totally be me then."

Ajay laughed then trying to figure out how to ask her about the phone calls.

"Just ask me Ajay." Aiden grinned.

She blushed, "I'm sorry, you know how nosy I am. I swear I won't say a word except to Chris."

Aiden wet her lips and paused dramatically.

"_Cookie_…." Ajay whined impatiently.

"His name is Randy."

"**ORTON**?" Ajay screamed.

"So you know him?" she asked, still as clueless as ever about wrestling.

Ajay collapsed back onto the pillows, "You are such a bitch! He's so sexy! How in the hell did that happen, you and him?"

"He gave me a ride and helped me find Lexie and then surprised me down in Savannah." Aiden told her.

"Have you hooked up with him?" she asked excitedly.

Her jaw dropped when Aiden turned red, "I _HATE_ you, tell me everything, every detail now. Let me live vicariously through you for once."

She went through and told Ajay about her time in Savannah and finished up just when it was time for Aiden to start dinner.

Chris was waiting expectantly when the girls came back down.

"Randy." Ajay said.

"**ORTON**?" he exclaimed, just as Ajay had.

Aiden laughed, "He must be pretty popular."

"Oh wow, that's totally going to get to your brother." Chris laughed.

Aiden was in the middle of preparing dinner when Adam returned and he was not alone. He strutted through the house with his date for the night, a beautiful blonde whose dress left little to the imagination.

"What's up?" he nodded smugly at Aiden.

She smiled sweetly, completely unphased. Ajay looked furious however.

"This is Jackie, Jackie this is Chris, Ajay and Aiden." he introduced.

She waved on cue.

No one said anything, the room was silent except for Aiden's cooking. Adam was agitated that she had no reaction at all to his date. He was hoping for at least some jealousy, but maybe this type of woman wasn't her trigger. He left after a few more minutes of awkward silence, already plotting his next date. Hopefully then he would get the reaction he had been hoping for.

* * *

Throughout the next couple of weeks Adam paraded as many different types of girls as he could in front of Aiden and still had not gotten the reaction he had hoped for. Ajay had finally blown up at him for bringing all of his hoochie friends around her kids. He finally gave up on the idea and was sitting downstairs in the living room hoping Aiden would come back down so they could finally talk about everything. He had seen her briefly this morning when Alex had come to pick up Lexie.

"Ajay, I need to ask a favor of you." Aiden said coming into her and Chris' room.

"Okay but first, WOW! You look amazing." she complimented.

"Its not too much?' she frowned, looking down at her sparkly plum colored dress and black heels.

"No, I love it. What was your favor?" Ajay said.

"I was going to meet Randy, but he asked me to stay with him tonight while he's in town and wanted to pick me up. So is it okay if he comes over and does that?"" Aiden questioned.

"One condition, you bring his fine ass in so I can see him up close." Ajay giggled.

"_I heard that_." Chris yelled from down the hall in the playroom.

Aiden smiled at Ajay before going to call Randy. A half an hour later the doorbell rang and Adam rushed to open it thinking it was the pizza he had ordered.

"You gotta be kidding me." he snarled seeing Randy on the doorstep.

Randy smirked, "Is Aiden ready?"

Adam was immobile, dumbfounded that Randy was the one Aiden had been seeing.

She came up beside Adam smiling brightly, "Come in."

He went past Adam with another smirk and followed Aiden to the living room. He grabbed her and spun her around to him, his lips crashing down on hers as his hand squeezed her butt.

She pulled away laughing.

"These are for you and Lexie." he said presenting her with a bouquet of red roses and a miniature one of pink roses.

She blushed taking them from him.

"And these are for you and your daughter." Randy said extending a bouquet of white roses for Ajay and a miniature bouquet of yellow ones for Kenzie.

Ajay fumbled to stand up, hitting her shin on the coffee table.

"Thank you." she smiled, not caring that she was blatantly staring at him.

Randy nodded, raking his eyes up and down her, "You haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you."

Ajay grinned shyly, "Cookie, lets go put these in water."

She looked at Randy who looked at his watch, "We've got a few minutes."

He kissed her lips, with a wink. Chris rolled his eyes seeing the longing in Ajay's eyes.

"I'm so jealous of you!" she whispered when they got into the kitchen, "And look how good he is with Joey and even Kenzie is flirting."

Aiden peeked around the corner at Kenzie who was sitting with Chris but couldn't take her eyes off of Randy. Joey was standing in front of him inspecting his tattoos.

"Lexie likes him too, not that he's around her very much." she smiled.

"I should've slept with him when I had the chance." Ajay muttered to herself.

Adam came into the kitchen looking highly agitated, "So tell me why Aiden can bring her little boyfriend here and I can't bring my dates? Explain that to me will you?"

"Because they weren't dates, they were sluts. He has on more clothes than all of them put together. And she asked for permission beforehand instead of just showing up with him." Ajay fired back.

Adam turned to Aiden then, "Are you doing this to get back at me?"

"No Adam, I wouldn't do that. It just worked out better for him to come and pick me up. I never said one thing to you about who you brought over." She replied.

"He's a co-worker of mine though. I mean you couldn't date somebody else…_anybody_ else?" he asked, his volume escalating.

"Stop being an ass Adam! I told her to invite him in." Ajay shouted.

"You've never wanted me to be with her! But you'll _invite **Randy**_ in? Are you fucking kidding me? He's still fucking married to **HIS** wife." Adam yelled.

"Both of you stop, please." Aiden begged coming between them.

"This is bullshit Aiden, you could have told me about him!" he accused.

"Well when you're not dating you don't get that privilege." Randy said lowly.

Adam turned his fierce expression to Randy, "You _knew_ we were together…"

Randy smirked before kissing Aiden's temple, "We need to go babe."

Aiden nodded but kept her eyes on Adam. She didn't expect to see him so upset, especially after they way he had been behaving lately. But there it was, right in front of her. She reached out and squeezed his hand, before she felt Randy pulling her away.

Adam steeled his jaw, seeing the apology written on her delicate features. His fury was molten when he heard the door close. He could guess what Randy had planned for the evening and it was tormenting his thoughts. It was all he could see in his mind's eye. He need to vent, to break something and he set about to do just that.

* * *

_**Thanks so much to Alice Jericho, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, and babygirlleahrox for their reviews! **_

_**Your name should be on that list too, so drop me a line :) xoxo**_


	25. Devious

**_Can you tell I'm on a roll with these chapters? lol _**

**_Hope you enjoy! (Drama, drama, drama)_**

* * *

He went back into the living room with his fury spurring him on. He swung a mighty fist at the wall leaving a noticeable hole . He let out a loud growl of frustration as he kicked several toys that were in his path.

He continued his destruction until Ajay came in, "What the fuck are you doing you idiot?"

He never looked up as he punched another hole in the wall.

Ajay hit him several times in the back, "Stop destroying my living room asshat! You're going to pay for all of this and I mean it. You can't just go around…"

While she continued to rant he zoned out. That distant thought that had been suppressed suddenly presented itself to him. Everything made perfect sense to him, the sudden clarity it brought was astounding.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ajay finally stopped.

He sat there motionless, still stunned by his epiphany.

"I love Aiden." He said softly, stating aloud the revelation that had finally presented itself to him.

It was a neon sign blinking and flashing and blinding him.

Ajay staggered back, hearing the obvious clarity in his voice. She knew he had feelings for Aiden, everybody could see that, she was taken aback that he had actually admitted it.

"You _what_?" she asked.

He sat on the couch, his expression never changing, "I **LOVE** Aiden."

Ajay had to laugh, "That's what I thought you said."

Adam barely heard her, his mind was running a mile a minute.

"I've got to get her back." he said finally looking up at her, "Will you help me?"

"Wait, what are we talking here? Like getting her back from Randy or getting her back from Randy _AND_ Alex?" she questioned.

"I want her for myself. How did I not see this before?" he said shaking his head before asking her again, "Will you help me?"

"I don't know if I should be involved in this or not." she frowned, hearing the desperation in his voice.

"Just think about it, and while you're at it remember all of the times I was there for you, no questions asked." he gave in going upstairs.

* * *

He went to Aiden's room and shut the door. His heart constricted from being surrounded by her things, but not her. He wandered to the closet, flipping on the light. Everything was meticulously organized, he smiled at all of Lexie's little clothes hanging with her mothers. He turned off the light trying to think how in the hell he could get her back.

Randy wasn't going to be a problem, it was getting her away from Alex he was going to have trouble with. He knew Ajay was right, they did have a strong connection not to mention Lexie…wait…that was it.

The only reasonable way to have her involved in his life would be to have a child with her.

He knew she probably wouldn't outright agree to it, so he was going to have to come up with a way to make his plan work. He never wore protection with her, he had that working in his favor already. Her and her pills were the problem. She was religious with them, and he didn't know shit about them.

He spied her lap top and grinned.

* * *

Ajay went into her room with a look of shock still on her face

"What happened?" Chris groaned.

"Well my brother will be paying for the damage he caused, oh and he just admitted that he loved Aiden."

"Well I could see that already." he dismissed.

"He asked me to help him get her back." she said.

"Don't babe, because I don't want you to be in the middle of that." he groaned.

She crawled into bed, "I don't even know how he's going to go about this. I told him I wasn't sure."

"Seeing her with Randy must have really set him off." Chris mused trying to find a comfortable spot.

"Yeah, guess he finally realized that he's got some competition." Ajay muttered.

She was lost in thought, worried about her brother and Aiden for that matter.

Adam could be a fanatic at times, overzealous and uninhibited, when he set his mind to something; and she felt certain that Aiden would fall into that category. The way he had frozen and was hit so suddenly by the fact that he loved her made her afraid of what he might do.

He was capable of anything.

* * *

Adam was conflicted the next day sitting in Aiden's room.

He had researched everything there was to know about birth control pills…and how to sabotage them.

He had hastily went out that morning and got antibiotics and fertility pills that looked similar to Aiden's birth control pills and one of her vitamins. He was sitting on the bed with all of this in front of him, Aiden's pill boxes in front of him. He had picked on her several times about how "geriatric and OCD" it was that she had one for each week in the month, but now he was thanking his lucky stars. She already had them filled with next months vitamins, and birth control.

It had seemed like such a good plan earlier, now he wasn't sure at all. He didn't want to break her trust, he had been completely honest and upfront with her from the beginning, a definite first for him. Then he though about her continuing to date Randy or going back to Alex and having to endure being left high and dry.

No, this was something he had to do, he wouldn't think about the guilt.

He let out a breath and began taking out her real pills and began switching them with the replacements he had gotten. When he was done he returned the boxes to their original spot and tucked the medicine away in his bag to dispose of later.

He kept repeating to himself that what the was doing was the right thing, as he swallowed his own fertility pill for added measure.

Now all he had to convince Aiden somehow to stop sleeping with Randy.

* * *

"Hey." he smiled, coming into the kitchen, surprised to see Aiden back already.

She didn't respond as she fixed herself some coffee.

He came up behind her gently massaging her shoulders, "I'm sorry kid."

"You embarrassed me, and yourself…_again_ Adam." she sighed.

"Will you look at me?" he pleaded.

She turned around looking up at him with tears in her eyes. It was amazing to look at her now that he had finally admitted to himself that he loved her.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you, I know that. In my defense thought, I was shocked that you were seeing Randy of all people." he told her, his voice low.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I never meant to make you mad. Randy literally just showed up. I never expected us to have a connection." she cried.

He cupped her face gently, "I know that we were never official or anything. I just kind of thought that you would tell me something like that. I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of jealous because he's cutting in on my time with you. My time to apologize and make up for last night with you."

He whispered, kissing her ear.

"What about the fight with Alex?" she sniffed.

"I was mad then because I though something had happened to you and Lexie." he stopped then, realizing that argument would get him nowhere, "I'm sorry. I really am. I want us to be the way we were. You, me, Lexie Lou, and Alex on the weekends."

She laughed then, "What about Randy?"

He dropped his head, "I know I can't tell you not to see him, but can I make another request?"

He looked up to see her nod, "If we're still going to be hanging out and hooking up, will you please not hook up with Randy? I don't care if you date him or whatever, just not the sex part."

It was a very good thing he was a good liar. He would rather rip all of his teeth out of his head than allow her to continue dating Randy.

He ran a hand through his hair, if she didn't agree to stop sleeping with Randy, his plan very well could blow up in his face. For it to work, he had to be the only person sleeping with her and as many times as possible.

"You do still want to be with me right?" he asked.

She nodded, "I do, and I don't think that's an unreasonable request. You made that commitment to me, I think its only fair for me to do the same."

He kissed her several times, "Thank you, that means a lot to me."

"Might want to watch your back though. Randy might get mad that you're the reason he's getting cut off." she joked.

"I'm not worried about him." Adam brushed off as he squeezed her butt, "Think we have enough time to go upstairs before Alex gets here?"

"Yes, but I'm not really in the mood right now." she said making a face.

"Okay, and um, for the record, I didn't hook up with any of those girls I brought over. I was trying to make you jealous." he admitted.

She smiled, "I know."

"Nice try dork, except Aiden is years younger and way prettier than any of the whores you brought home." Ajay commented.

"That was my mistake, one that I won't make again." he assured kissing Aiden gently.

Ajay smirked, still unsure what to make of Adam's confession the night before.

"Did you tell her how you feel?" she whispered when Aiden went to answer the door.

"No, _shut up_." he hissed.

* * *

Two weeks later Adam was about to go out of his mind. He and Aiden had gotten back to normal terms, though she did still go out with Randy as well.

That was the bad part…the worst part was that he hadn't gotten laid in those two weeks.

He figured because of her hormone shifts she just hadn't been in the mood. She had turned down every single one of his advances. He also had yet to tell her that he was in love with her and was catching hell from Ajay for it. She thought he was playing games when in reality he was far too scared to put himself out there. He had always feared rejection, never more so than his current situation.

He waited impatiently on the phone for his sister to pick up, "Took ya long enough."

"Hello to you too." she greeted sarcastically.

"Focus, I need a favor. I need you to convince Aiden to go up to the cabin with me." he said.

"And why do I have to do that again?" she asked skeptically.

"One favor, that's all I ask, don't be a brat. I'll be there tomorrow to pick her up. She said she wasn't sure and that she had to think about it. I need you to convince her to go, okay?" he said.

Ajay huffed, "Fine, but you owe me."

She got off the phone with him and went to search for Aiden. She was outside watching Lexie, Joey, and Kenzie play on the swing set.

"So Cookie, what are your plans for the weekend?" Ajay asked falling into one of the lawn chairs.

"I'm not sure, Adam said something about going to some cabin." she shrugged.

"Our family's cabin? You so should go. It's so pretty and relaxing up there. I remember every Christmas we would pick out a Christmas tree and take it back to Gran's." Ajay replied, making sure to be over enthusiastic.

"I've got Lexie though. Alex is visiting his mom and dad this weekend." she argued.

Ajay looked offended, "Hello? That's what we're here for."

"Yeah but for three days? I just don't know." she shook her head twirling the flower Lexie had brought her.

"Aiden, we can take care of Lexie. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, you haven't been anywhere the last two weeks." Ajay pointed out.

Aiden sighed, "I would have to pack and that takes forever."

"We'll help you, won't we Joey?" Ajay asked her son who had come running up.

"Yeah! And we have a sleepover in my room! Will you make us a tent before you leave?"

"Okay." she smiled.

* * *

The next morning Adam showed up bright and early, his stomach in knots.

This had to work.

Once he got up there, when the mood was right he was going to tell her how he truly felt.

He kissed her after he loaded her luggage into the SUV, "You ready to go?"

She bit her lip and looked down at Savannah who was still asleep in her arms, "I suppose."

He leaned down and kissed Lexie's cheeks, "I'll be in the car."

Aiden turned to Ajay and Chris with a frown on her face. She hugged and kissed Lexie again before handing her to Chris.

"Have fun and don't worry about her." Ajay smiled.

Aiden nodded and turned to get in the car with Adam. He took her hand and brought it to his lips as they drove down the road. She smiled sadly and leaned over the center console to rest her head on his shoulder.

This was the biggest weekend of his life, bigger than any of the rest. He was finally in love, he had found the woman he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he was going to tell her at last.

And if fate was shining on him, this would also be the weekend they started their new family.

* * *

**_I already know you're mad...lol...I'm waiting to hear just how much :) lol_**

**_*X's and O's to my lovely reviewers: xSamiliciousx, AliceJericho, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare*_**


	26. Don't Deny Me

**_Okay, last chapter of the night, I'm tired of typing :)_**

**_Please enjoy and review!_**

* * *

As they pulled up to the cabin it had just begun to snow, creating just the atmosphere he had hoped for. Aiden clung to him as he led her to the porch so she wouldn't fall.

He kissed her long and hard, "Stay here, don't want you breaking your leg or something."

"Shut up.' she laughed throwing a snowball at him.

He brought in all of their luggage and began flipping on lights.

"This is nice. No wonder Ajay was so excited for me to come up here." she commented.

Adam looked around the familiar cabin, "Yeah it's been a few years since I've been up here. Come on I'll show you around."

He gave her a quick tour and ended up in the spacious master bedroom.

"I'll let you get settled while I go and start the fire. Do me a favor and go ahead and get dressed for dinner. I'll have it ready in about a half hour." he instructed.

"Really? You're cooking for me?" she asked skeptically.

"Really. See you in a few." he grinned.

She sat down on the foot of the bed feeling things she hadn't felt in weeks. She hadn't experienced any kind of sexual urges which was very odd, but the way he just smiled at her made her tingle. Maybe she had finally gotten over the fight and was just now realizing it. Whatever the reason, she was glad for it, she didn't like feeling strained around him.

* * *

Meanwhile Adam was downstairs working diligently to make sure everything was perfect. The dinner he had picked up from one of her favorite restaurants was ready, the fireplace was crackling with a picture perfect fire, and he was moving furniture to put down the large fur throw and pillows he had brought in front of it.

He heard her coming down the stairs and checked his reflection quickly before meeting her at the base. She literally took his breath away when he laid eyes on her. Her black strapless dress was perfect, her hair in soft waves, with her long bangs swept to the side.

"Say something." she blushed.

"You're beautiful all of the time, but right now…here…you're flawless." he complimented.

"Thank you." she smiled shyly, reaching out to adjust his collar and put his hair behind his ears, "You look handsome."

"Let's eat." he said after a few more moments of staring at her.

They sat at the table, conversation flowing effortlessly though Aiden could sense his nerves. After dinner he poured them both some champagne and lead her to the fireplace. She sat down on the rug as he went to get dessert.

"You got my favorite truffles? Adam!" Aiden smiled excitedly.

"I know how much you love them." he said, watching her savor one.

"Who plays the guitar?" she asked.

He glanced in the corner at the instrument, "I do actually."

"Are you any good?" she smirked.

He shrugged, "Pretty good."

"Will you serenade me?" she winked.

"I don't know about all of that. I'm not much of a singer." he said helping himself to one of the decadent chocolates.

"Please?" she pouted.

"Aiden…don't make that face." he laughed, "Seriously…"

She snuggled into him and started whining, still making her pouty face.

"Alright, alright, just don't make fun of me. I'm kind of nervous." he gave in grabbing the guitar from the corner.

His stomach was doing flip flops as he pulled the pick from beneath the strings. He strummed a couple of chords and blew out a shaky breath, looking up at her. She smiled encouragingly at him as he started playing the first song that popped into his head. He hoped she didn't think it was too cheesy.

_It still feels like our first night together_

_Feels like the first kiss and it's getting' better baby_

_No one can better this_

_I'm still holding on and you're still the one_

_The first time our eyes met, it's the same feeling I get_

_Only feels much stronger and I wanna love you longer_

_You still turn the fire on_

_So if your feelin lonely...don't_

_You're the only one I'd ever want_

_I only wanna make it good _

_So if I love you a little more than I should_

_Please forgive me, I know not what I do_

_Please forgive me, I can't stop lovin' you_

_Don't deny me_

_This pain I'm going through_

_Please forgive me_

_If I need you like I do_

_Please believe me_

_Every word I say is true_

_Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you_

He ended the song and looked up at her.

He saw the tears in her eyes, "That bad?"

"That good." she whispered, her eyes shimmering.

He sat the guitar aside and got down on his knees in front of her, his shaking hands cupping her face.

"I don't want to complicate anything for you baby, but I can't hide this any longer." he told her, his voice shaking, "I love you Aiden."

"Adam…" She whispered, the tears falling down her face.

He closed his eyes waiting for the imminent sting of her rejection.

"I love you too." she said quietly.

He opened his eyes slowly, "I can hardly breath."

She put her fingers into his hair and pulled him to her kissing him slowly. He moved his mouth over her as he slowly unzipped her dress. He pulled it off of her just as she finished with the buttons of his shirt. They said nothing, their mouths too busy working over hot flesh. He laid her back onto the fur rug to undress the rest of the way. He smiled, looking down at her glowing from the dancing fire.

This was where he was going to cross his fingers. Despite her profession of love in return of his, he knew the only way to keep her was to impregnate her.

He bent over her kissing and nibbling all over her body until she begged him to give it to her. He groaned as he joined their bodies, and began making love to her immediately. The small noises she made coupled with all of her subtle movements were drawing him closer and closer. He sat up, still slowly thrusting into to look at her. Her eyes were half lidded, her small hands grasping his hips with every push. She arched her back as he pushed deeper into her. His teeth sunk into his bottom lip hearing her whimper as he filled her completely.

"Adam.." she called softly, her chest heaving as she gave in.

He licked his lips and gripped her hips as he drove into her. He closed his mouth onto her neck finally letting go. She held onto him, running her hands up and down his back as he shuddered. He was resting on his elbows coming down from possibly the best sex he'd ever had with her.

She looked into his green eyes that were clouded with emotion, "I love you."

"I love you too kid." he sighed.

He rolled over to his side to grab a blanket to cover them both up. He ran his fingers up and down her back as she rested on his chest.

"So are you really in love with me or do you just think you are?" she asked after a few moments.

He smiled remembering that conversation from their first date, "I know I am, without a doubt. I think I always knew, but I was afraid to admit it. What about you?"

"Its complicated." she sighed, "I'm conflicted."

"That's what I didn't want to cause." he frowned.

She looked up at him, "I do love you, I have strong emotions that are connected to and involve you, but at the same time…there's Alex."

He swallowed thickly and nodded, "I understand, as long a I have you, at least a part of you anyways."

She kissed his neck and chest casually, "I realized that I loved you when I agreed to come on this trip with you. I wanted to get our relationship back to the way it was. I'm comfortable for the most part with you."

"What does that mean?" he asked sitting up slightly to look at her.

She put her hand on his chest to assure him, "It's nothing bad, you still have the flair to embarrass me sometimes."

He didn't lay back, "And?"

She looked up at him apologetically, "Adam…"

He sat up all the way then, "No tell me."

She looked like a little child at that moment, afraid to fess up,"Sometimes I think you maybe get too possessive of me that's all."

He laid back down not really affected by what she said. When he cared about someone that's the way he got.

"I'll work on that." he mumbled not really planning to do anything different.

* * *

Their weekend passed rather quickly. On the drive home he reminisced taking her in every position, on every surface of the cabin. On several occasions she had pleaded with him for more sleep but he wasn't having any of it.

They stopped for lunch before they crossed back into the U.S. and that's where he suddenly realized that with all the things they had talked about, their relationship status had not been brought up. He waited until they were back in the car to bring it up.

"I can't wait to see my baby." she smiled.

"I bet so. Umm…so are we official now? I mean what do I call you? Are you my girlfriend am I your boyfriend?" he questioned.

"I think we're to that level now, yeah." she agreed.

He nodded pensively, "So what about Randy and Alex?"

"I'll end things with Randy, that's not a problem. Alex…I'm not ready to deal with that, I hope you can understand." she admitted.

Of course he understood, that's why he had made the necessary steps to have that status in her life as well.

"Adam?" she asked, squeezing his hand fearfully.

"Sure I do babe." he smiled.

* * *

Two hours later they finally pulled up to Ajay's house.

Adam grabbed her arm before she took off to go inside, "Hey, I love you kid."

She gave him the brightest smile before kissing his lips, "I love you too."

"Mama!" Lexie squealed dropping her juice cup to go running to Aiden.

She scooped her up in a hug kissing her puffy cheeks, "I missed you my love."

"Sooo, how was it?" Ajay asked when Aiden sat down.

"It was great, very relaxing just like you said." she answered with a smirk.

"What was that look about?" Chris smiled.

"Nothing." she brushed off.

"Tell us, even though we already know. There has been so much sex had up there its not even funny." Ajay laughed.

"Yeah but he was an _animal_ this weekend." Aiden smiled.

"Must have been all that Viagra the old man's been taking." Ajay joked.

"No way..." Aiden said, her jaw dropping.

Chris grimaced , "I don't want to think about Adam having sex please."

"Sorry." Aiden laughed.

Ajay swatted him on the arm, "Don't be a prude, we're probably just as kinky as they are or did you forget that's how Kenzie got here?"

Adam who was eavesdropping, made his presence known then, "Did you tell them the even better news?"

"Ummm, not yet no." she said quietly.

"What news?" Chris and Ajay asked.

"We're officially dating now. I finally told her how I felt, that I love her." he stated proudly.

"Wow, I don't know what to say." Chris answered for the both of them.

Ajay shook her head, "Don't you think this is all a little sudden and far fetched? I mean you're still married to Alex, and you, well we know your history with kids and relationships. Maybe you should have waited?"

"Why can't you just be happy for us?" Adam asked her pulling Aiden to him protectively.

"I am, I just think both of you have a few obstacles in your way before I get all giddy alright?" she argued leaving the room.

Chris went after her reluctantly.

Adam rolled his eyes, he was used to his sisters tantrums. He had more important things to deal with.

"So when are you going to call Randy to break it off with him?"

* * *

**_*Thanks to all my peeps that reviewed! Keep them coming!*_**

**_~Disclaimer: the song used in this chapter belongs to Bryan Adams-Please Forgive Me~_**

**_And if it doesn't...bite me :O)_**


	27. Crazy Night

_**Hoep everyone had a great Halloween! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy!**

* * *

_

"When are you going to break up with Randy?"

If she heard that question one more time she was going to blow up. For the past month she and Adam had been dating, he had managed to sneak that question in to their everyday life somehow. It's not like she hadn't made the effort he was asking of her. She most certainly had. Her and Randy's schedules just weren't clicking. She wasn't going to stalk him for goodness sake. And to make matters worse, Alex had found out about their newly formed commitment and was none too happy about it. She was stressed to the max to say the least and was just waiting for some kind of catalyst that would cause her to break.

Adam was stretched out on her bed waiting for her to get back from shopping with his sister.

"Hey." he yawned stretching when he stood up.

She managed a weak smile, she was on the verge of a serious migraine and her back was hurting her even worse.

"Did you have a good time?" he asked hugging her tenderly.

"I'm just tired. I'm going to take a nap I think." she said quietly.

"Did you want to try calling Randy before you do. You know, see if he can meet with you finally." he asked, while rummaging through her bags.

"Adam, if you ask me about that again…you what, just get out. Leave me alone for a little while." she snapped.

"It's been a month honey. I'm sorry I want you all to myself, but I do." he pouted playfully.

"Shut the fuck up and get out. Now." she ordered, finally having enough.

He furrowed his brow at her unusual language. She rarely ever cursed but when she did it made an impact. She slammed the door behind him.

"I think I made her mad." he said to Chris who was helping Ajay unload groceries downstairs.

"Way to go." Chris muttered sarcastically.

"I'm just ready for her to break it off with Randy." he grumbled.

Lexie came bouncing through the kitchen and stopped to click her teeth together at Adam. She had started doing that to mimic him when he spoke through his teeth.

"Yeah, very funny Chopper." he laughed tickling her sides.

"Tell me Adam, how is it that you can be so loving and dote on her and you couldn't with your own son? What is the difference? Why are you acting so differently with Aiden than you did with Addison, Amy, Tessa, and Lisa?" she asked finally having enough of his silence about Joey.

"What the hell is everybody getting pissed off at me for?" he looked around.

"Because you're an insensitive prick sometimes." she shouted.

He ran his hands through his hair in disgust. Maybe he should just go back to bed and start the day over. He turned around to do just that, but saw Aiden in the doorway.

"I got in touch with Randy, he's going to take me to dinner tonight to talk." she informed, her eyes shimmering as she rushed to him, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I don't feel good right now and took it out on you, and I'm sorry."

He kissed the top of her head, "It's okay, no big deal."

He had seriously been considering calling off his whole plan due to Aiden's recent mood swings. He didn't know that the pills would have such a profound effect like that on her.

"Uggh, I've been such a cry baby lately too." she moaned, "Ajay even said something to me about how weepy I've been lately."

He glared at his sister who was passing through the kitchen.

"What? I just asked if she needed some Midol." she said innocently.

"What time do you go to dinner?" he asked changing the subject.

"Eight." she said snuggling into his chest.

"Do you want me to go with you?" he wondered hopefully.

"No." she refused, "I don't want there to be any drama."

He kissed her lips gently, "Alright. Thank you for finally getting this done."

She forced a smile, "I'm going to go get ready."

He smiled watching her leave. She was finally going to dump Randy and officially belong to him. Yeah she may still be married to Alex but in the right amount of time he could probably talk her into leaving him too. Especially if they were expecting a child of their own.

Aiden came back downstairs with a simple but elegant cocktail dress that really made Adam want to go with her to make sure Randy understood that she was dumping him. He knew he would have a hard time listening to her when she looked so damn irresistible.

"I'll be back later." she called pecking his lips before going to the garage.

* * *

She got to the restaurant where Randy greeted her at the door, "Hey beautiful. Sorry it took so long to meet up with you."

"It's okay, sorry I had to bring her, she's been really clingy lately and threw a fit when she saw me getting ready." she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. She looks like she could fall asleep any minute." he noticed as he pulled out her chair for her.

They talked about random things until their food came, that's when they got to the point of the meeting.

"So my wife and I are working things out. She asked me to move back in." he stated.

"I'm so happy for you. That's great." she said sincerely, "I hope it works out for both of you."

"It's been great getting to see Alanna more often." he said.

"I'm sure she missed you. You always seemed like a wonderful father." she smiled.

He narrowed his eyes, "You look relieved that I said that."

She blushed, "I am. Adam and I are getting kind of serious and I told him that I wanted to see where our relationship would go."

"So you were going to dump me." he asked reading between the lines.

"Sort of...yes, but now its pretty mutual right?" she grinned.

"Now both of us can save face. I'll tell everyone I broke up with you and you can tell everyone you broke up with me." he joked.

"I suppose. It was fun while it lasted right?" she asked shyly.

He laced his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand, "It was a lot of things, and yes fun being one of them. Intense, romantic, refreshing to name a few others."

She looked away nervously. She could never hold his intense gaze for very long. She would be naked and asking "Adam who?" before she could stop herself.

"I'm going to miss that innocent vulnerability the most I think." he laughed before turning serious, "Adam finally manned up huh?"

Aiden traced the lines on his palm as a distraction, "He did. It's been about a month. He was about to die for me to officially break things off with you."

"He didn't want to let a good thing go. He's lucky such an amazing opportunity didn't pass him by." Randy smirked.

Lexie began fussing and holding her arms up to be held.

"Finish eating, I've got her." he said picking her up.

She rested her head on his shoulder, content with the attention she was getting.

An older couple stopped at the table.

"We wanted to tell you what a lovely family you are. Your daughter is gorgeous." the elderly woman complimented.

Randy winked at Aiden, "Thank you, she gets it from her mom."

She blushed on cue, like he knew she would.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening. It was so nice to see you so attentive with your wife." she smiled patting Randy on the shoulder as they left.

"I'm glad you could practice with me and Lexie, that's probably why Sam's taking you back.' she teased.

"Ha, ha, very funny." he said handing Lexie over to her.

"I would still like to be friends if that's at all possible." he asked.

"I think we can work that out." she laughed.

He pulled her to him and kissed her.

* * *

After a long week alone Alex had decided that tonight he was going to get wasted. He was depressed again due to him still not getting anywhere close to making amends with his wife. Everything he did amounted to nothing, and he was sick of it. He was walking to the next bar hoping the cool air would clear his already drunken head.

He sobered up instantly when he passed Aiden's favorite restaurant. He always peeked in to see if she was there, this time he wished he hadn't. She was sitting there with Randy Orton playing all lovey fucking dovey with him…with their daughter present.

When the hell had they gotten together and why was Lexie with them?

He stormed into the building in a drunken haze, furious beyond belief when he approached their table. Randy had handed Lexie off to Aiden and was kissing her. His timing was perfect. Just as they pulled away his fist connected with Randy's jaw. Aiden gasped and reeled from the table for her and Lexie's safety.

Alex was on top of Randy in an instant following with more punches. Randy countered quickly with a few of his own making Alex stagger back. They locked up again and fell to the floor each landing devastating blows to the other one before they were finally pulled apart by several police officers who had been called.

Aiden was in shock as she watched her husband being put in handcuffs and escorted out. She shook her head to clear the confusion and worry and set about to do damage control.

"Are you okay?" she asked tearfully.

Randy looked down at her as he was being attended to, "What the fuck was he thinking? Did you know he was going to be here?" he shouted.

Aiden shook her head vehemently, "I had no idea, I swear. I'm so sorry for what he did."

"He will be too when he finds out I'm pressing charges." Randy spat, hissing under his breath as a wound was being cleaned.

All the color drained from her face. She couldn't let this happen.

"Please don't do that." she cried.

Randy looked at her like she needed a straight jacket, "You can't be serious. He's a psycho!"

"He's not like this usually, I don't know what his problem was but what I do know is that he's Lexie's father. I can't tell her that he's in jail. Please do me this one favor. Please don't press charges, don't do that to me or Lexie."

"That's not fair Aiden and you know it. He deserves to go to jail for this bullshit. He doesn't deserve your sympathy. I'm doing you a favor as a matter of fact. He's dangerous and shouldn't be allowed to be around you or Lexie." he argued.

"I'll do anything…just please reconsider…for me?" she begged clinging to the front of his shirt.

The muscles in his jaw flexed, if it were anyone else other than Aiden he would have never even considered the notion.

"I don't like it, at all." he growled.

She felt like she could literally collapse, "Thank you Randy."

"I wouldn't do this for anyone else, and next time that son of a bitch won't be so lucky." he told her, before kissing her forehead, "Get Lexie home and deal with his stupid ass in the morning.

She nodded even though she knew her work was far from over.

* * *

By the time she finally bailed Alex out she was dead on her feet, her anger kept her alert, not to mention the fact that she had her daughter in a _fucking jail_.

Alex sauntered down the hall very surprised to see Aiden waiting for him. His step lost a little bit of a bounce when he saw how utterly furious she looked. She spun on her heel and marched out to the parking lot. He followed her not knowing what else to do. He got in the passenger seat of her car, the last bit of his buzz wearing off as she drove to their house.

He sat downstairs as she put Lexie to bed in her room. She finally came back downstairs and still looked like she could kill him. He had been hoping she would have cooled down a bit, but yeah, lately his luck had pretty much sucked.

"What were you thinking?" she began quietly.

"What were _YOU_ thinking? Randy Orton? Where the fuck did he come from and what happened to the agreement we had to not have Lexie around just anybody? That's what I was thinking about. My _WIFE_, who I thought was involved with Adam, was making out with her new boy toy, who had his hands on my damn daughter." he yelled.

"Are you crazy? How **dare** you turn this around on me. How **DARE** you! Do you have any idea what I had to do to keep you from going to jail for the whole weekend? I begged, pleaded, and called in several favors to keep our daughters father from being locked up. You could have had several charges pressed against you!" she shouted back.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, "I don't give a fuck about going to jail! I would have gone with a smile on my face if it meant keeping that slimy motherfucker away from you and Lex. Randy…._REALLY_? Fuck Aiden, what' is wrong with you?"

She struggled to be set free, "I was breaking up with him you idiot!"

Alex held her firmly, getting in her face, "What were you doing with him in the first place? Isn't he married?"

"Who cares? I broke up with him!" she huffed.

"Why, so you could live happily ever after with Adam?" he asked, "You are fucking everything up. I don't want my kid around either one of them."

"I've told you before, I take care of her, not Adam. You're just trying to find an excuse to be mad and defend what you did but its not going to work. The fact of the matter is that you're still an immature, selfish, jackass!" she shot back.

"I'm trying to figure out what the fuck you're looking for! I want my family back and I've tried the nice guy routine and you paid me no attention, I was the bad guy and now I'm an asshole, tell me what you want! Tell me what I have to do to be your husband again Aiden." he yelled, shaking her again.

Before she could answer him he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like he was never going to get another opportunity to do so. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, hissing when she bit him. He pushed her against the counter roughly, the marble hitting her back at an odd angle making her gasp. She was trying to push him away, trying to fight him off to no avail. He finally released her, pulling back to look into her eyes. They were filled with fury and outrage. She swung her small hand and connected with his cheek, snapping his head to the side.

"Don't you ever do that again!" she screamed just before he closed his mouth on hers again.

She struggled against him as his hands started tugging on her clothes.

"Alex, get off of me!" she breathed heavily, trying to stop him by grabbing his wrists.

He literally ripped her dress from her body. The sound of the zipper snapping, and fabric tearing filled the room. She beat against him with tiny fists trying to get him to stop. He ignored her still on his own mission. He yanked his shirt over his head and reached behind her to unfasten her bra. She whimpered into his mouth as he continued pulling fabric away from their bodies.

Somewhere in all of this mayhem, her fury morphed into passion. She had forgotten how raw and utterly possessive he could be. She found herself kissing him back just as his jeans dropped to the floor. She dug her fingernails into him as he lifted her onto the counter while simultaneously driving himself deeply inside of her. A cry of pleasure came out of her mouth as she tried to accommodate his size.

He hungrily devoured her skin as he savagely possessed her. He pushed her to lay back onto the counter top as he positioned himself better. She gasped and groaned as her lower back was thrust painfully into the counter top. She let out a muffled scream as she felt her climax take over. Alex sped up his unbelievable pace and joined her. She was shivering from exhaustion when she finally opened her eyes.

Aiden's feet barely hit the floor before Alex scooped her up into his arms to go upstairs to continue their wild night.

* * *

**Thanks so much to Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, babygirlleahrox, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, and Alice Jericho for their wonderful reviews! YOU GUYS ROCK!**

_**Please review and let me know what you think of this little development :)**_


	28. Not Always Positive

_**Sorry if this one kind of skips around, hope you like it anyways :)**_

* * *

Aiden woke up groggily the next morning. She looked around, disoriented with her surroundings. She felt the bed shift and heard her daughter giggling.

"Good morning Mommy." Alex grinned.

She smiled cherishing this moment with him and their daughter. Lexie crawled to her mother and snuggled into her side.

"I'm glad last night happened." he said quietly.

Aiden chewed her lip playing with Lexie's hair.

"Will you give me another chance? Can we try to put our family back together again, please?" he pleaded.

She looked at him, falling in love with his vulnerability.

"I swear to you that no one will ever come before you or Lexie again. I know I've got to earn your trust back. Please come home and lets work this out." he said leaning closer to her.

"I just made a commitment to Adam." she frowned.

"You don't love him." he dismissed.

"I _do_ love him." she argued.

"Not like you love me. You're lying to yourself if you think that." he countered.

He pressed his lips to hers, "I want things to be like they used to be. We can be good again baby."

She nodded, giving in. She hadn't truly been happy without him, a part of her had been missing.

He moved next to her to put an arm around her, "I love you."

"I love you too." she whispered before closing her eyes again.

* * *

Ajay came down the next morning to find her brother sitting alone in the dark kitchen, a half empty bottle of vodka at his side. She cocked her eyebrow in question watching as he downed a straight shot.

"She didn't come home last night." he finally said.

"Well where is she? Is she okay?" Ajay asked automatically.

He smiled mirthlessly, "She spent the night with Alex."

"What?" the surprise evident in her voice.

"When I couldn't get her on her phone I went out searching for her and finally called Randy and he told me where she was." he said, throwing back another drink.

He gritted his teeth furiously and threw the glass at the wall, just as Aiden walked in behind Ajay.

His cold glare was directed right at his girlfriend, "_How was your night_?"

Her face fell, "Adam…"

He stood up, kicking the bar stool back, "Ask me how my night was. Ask me how fucking worried I was about you and Lexie. Ask me how sick I felt when I found out that you were with Alex."

She shrank back as he stalked to her shoving his sister out of the way to grab her shoulders.

He almost had her lifted off of the ground, "Do you have any idea how I felt sitting here all night?"

Ajay recovered from being jostled and pried Adam off of Aiden, "Let her go, and don't you ever fucking shove me like that again."

"I'm sorry I didn't call you." she said, her voice low with guilt.

"I'm sure you were busy." he sneered.

"A lot of things happened last night that made me realize that I need to do what's best for my family and give Alex another chance." she sighed.

"So you're putting this off on Lexie? Taking the easy way out, huh?" he laughed heartlessly, letting her go.

"I never said it was only about her, but yes, of course she was factored into my decision. You knew I never stopped loving him." she said, angry that he was bringing Lexie into this.

He took a step toward her again, "What about giving me a chance? We've been dating for a month, I thought things were going to be great when you got back last night. We were finally going to be together, just you, me, and Lexie."

Aiden rolled her eyes, "It was never just you, me, and Lexie. I've always been married to Alex. I wasn't planning on this happening…it just did. The bottom line is, he's my husband and Lexie's father, I have to try to make this work for both of us."

"I've never put myself out there like I have with you. I've never been in love like this, you knew that. This really makes me wonder if you ever loved me at all." he said, the fight leaving him suddenly.

The anger was still there, but the fear of losing her completely was too. He had to at least still be friends with her after he got over this betrayal and rejection.

"I'm so sorry Adam. If I knew this was how things were going to pan out I never would have gotten involved with you. I never wanted to hurt you, but I know I did and I'm truly sorry." she cried.

He stared at her, the pain in his heart, the shot to his pride killing him, "I hope you made the right choice Aiden. I don't ever want to see you get hurt like that again."

He brushed past her grabbing his stuff he had packed last night and leaving.

Aiden glanced up at Ajay not surprised to see the animosity in her eyes. Her brother had just gotten dumped in front of her.

"I never thought I would be saying this to you instead of him, but you should have never lead him on like you did. He's never loved anyone like he loved you. I can't believe you left him for Alex, after all the shit he's put you through. All of the cheating, the lies, the yelling, trying to take Lexie from you, all of that and you leave my brother for it. Adam isn't perfect by any means, but he would have never stopped trying to be for you." Ajay glared.

"I never meant to hurt him. I do still love him, but I have to do this for me and Lexie. I can't go through life wondering what if. I thought you said you wanted me to be with him." she asked.

"I did, but not at the expense of Adam. He really did put all of himself into this relationship. He was so excited that you were finally going to be only his girlfriend. I expected more from you Aiden. I never thought I would be having this conversation with you. I hope Alex makes you happy, because I don't know if Adam will be willing to take you back or not." she said sternly.

Aiden wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry I disappointed you. Thank you for letting me and Lexie stay here for as long as we did. I'm just going to go get our things."

Ajay's heart melted seeing Aiden cry like that, but she was mad that she had treated her brother that way. They would make up later, she knew, but for now Aiden was just going to have to be upset.

* * *

Chris had just woken up and was going downstairs when he passed by Aiden's room. His brow furrowed when he heard her crying softly. He touched her shoulder lightly making her turn around. She fell into his arms crying.

He sat on the bed with her in his lap, "What's wrong?"

"I'm so stupid! I thought I was making the right choice by being with Alex, but now I just don't know." she hiccupped softly.

"Being with Adam you mean?" he corrected.

"No, I got back with Alex. We want to work on our marriage again." she said, "And I just got done trying to explain to Ajay and Adam, but all I did was upset them."

He pulled her chin up, "Will you do me a favor?"

She nodded slowly.

"I would like for you to do what is best for you and Lexie and forget everyone else's opinions for a little while. You try to please everyone and make everyone happy and you forget yourself. Ajay's probably just being protective of Adam, she'll come around, and he always knew he was second to Alex so that shouldn't have surprised him. You do what you have to do babe, don't worry about anyone else." he smiled.

She pecked his lips and hugged his neck, "Thanks Chris."

He helped her pack up the few things she had left and stopped her at the door, "Call me if you need me for anything. I don't care what time or the reason, I'll be there."

She squeezed his hand and made her way down the stairs. She got back home and came in the door exhausted. Staying up all night with Alex, then adding emotional stress on top of that wore her out. Alex was on the couch asleep with Lexie on his chest. She was the spitting image of her father. This was why she chose Alex, these were the memories she wanted to cherish.

**

* * *

**

TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

Aiden sat backstage impatiently waiting for a moment alone. She was hardly listening to anyone as she clutched her purse tightly. She was about to die form anticipation. Finally Alex, Chris, and Ajay were called to the ring. She wished them all good luck and turned to go back to the locker room but was stopped by James Storm.

"How's it goin' Frenchie? Haven't seen you here in a long time." he drawled, eyes sparkling.

"I'm sure you've heard why." she dismissed.

He smirked, "What's got you so uptight sugar?"

"It's just weird being back here." she lied.

"is that really it?" he asked skeptically.

She forced a smile, "Of course, stop worrying. Those three do that enough."

He spanked her bottom, "See you after our match, I need to catch up with you."

"Whatever." she laughed rolling her eyes.

As soon as she was around the corner she ran to the locker room and into the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror as she shakily took the pregnancy test from her purse. She was scared, terrified by the possible results, the possible reactions. She tore her eyes away from her reflection. It reminded her too much of when she had found out how sick she actually was while pregnant with Lexie.

She laughed wryly at herself for getting so worked up, she couldn't be pregnant. She had been on her pills the whole time. She was worrying for nothing. She glanced back in the mirror at her reflection.

She had to know one way or the other.

* * *

"Ajay you evil bitch, get back here!" Alex yelled chasing her through the hallways.

As soon as they got backstage she had dumped her water bottle all over him because of him making fun of her tripping in the ring. She laughed trying to think of someway to escape him. He caught her quickly and hoisted her onto his shoulder.

"We'll see who's laughing when I throw you into a cold shower." he threatened.

"Alex no! I'm sorry!" she pleaded, still struggling against him.

He sat her down abruptly as they both burst into the bathroom.

Aiden was sitting on the floor crying into her arms, the test at her side. Ajay and Alex were frozen.

"Shit…" he hissed out leaning against the wall for support.

Ajay went to her friend kneeling down to see the plus mark for herself. It was frighteningly real to see it again after everything that had happened with Lexie.

"I don't know how this could have happened…I'm, I'm…sorry." she gasped through tiny sobs.

Ajay pulled her into her arms, "You don't have to be sorry. This is good news, babies always are."

"How is it good news? We just got back together, we weren't even discussing the option of having another child…this isn't good news!" Aiden cried hysterically.

Alex finally gathered himself and joined them on the ground, "I'm not mad or upset honey, I'm a little scared that's all. Even if we haven't discussed it, you know I would love having another kid with you. I mean we did so good on the first one why not?"

He and Ajay both smiled, Aiden wasn't amused.

"What if I'm sick all the time, and stressed out?" she groaned.

Alex made her look at him, "You're not going to be all stressed out. We're going to treat this pregnancy different. We're going to tell everyone and get that out of the way and I'm going to take the very best care of you okay? Don't be sad, this is great news. What better way for us to grow stronger than to have another child? Lexie will be so excited to have a little brother or sister too. I can see her face already."

She looked away, still not entirely convinced until she went to the doctor to get his say on her and the baby's health.

Ajay's jaw dropped suddenly, "What if this baby belongs to Adam?"

* * *

**_Thank you to my wonderful reviewers!_**

**_*babygirlleahrox, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, and Alice Jericho* ===Awesomeness!_**

**_~thanks to TheNatrual'sgurl for putting me on alert!~_**


	29. Who's Your Daddy?

**_And the drama begins :) Enjoy!_**

* * *

They both looked at her, Alex with anger, Aiden with skepticism.

"It can't be his, I've been with Alex for awhile now." she argued.

"It could be Aiden, what if you were pregnant before you got back with Alex?" Ajay suggested.

He saw her face drop and glared at Ajay, "Remember the part about no stress? This is my kid, why would you even bring Adam up?"

"It's a possibility that its not. I think you should let him know." she said talking to Aiden.

She turned to Alex, worry etched into her smooth features.

He kissed her gently, "We'll go to the doctor and see what he says, if its even something we have to think about."

He helped her up and left Ajay on the floor completely undecided about what to do. For some reason she had this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that Adam was the father of Aiden's baby.

* * *

After the next day of tapings they all flew home to Detroit. Ajay had noticed that Alex had made sure to keep her away from Aiden. She understood he was being protective but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She had a moment when they touched down, while the boys were getting the cars to finally talk to her.

"Aiden I'm sorry. I don't want to upset you at all, but I do want you to be realistic too. You and Adam were hot and heavy for awhile. All I'm asking is for you to check when they baby was conceived. The doctor should know that from the ultrasound right? If it were me you would be telling me to do the same thing." she reminded.

"I know. I'm just scared that the baby is his. We didn't exactly end things on the best of terms, not to mention how Alex will take the news. I'm still pretty dumfounded how any of this happened in the first place. Ninety-nine percent means ninety-nine percent huh?"

Ajay hugged her tightly when she saw her tear up, "Don't get upset, Alex will kill me."

Alex and Chris pulled up.

"Tell Lexie I love her and that we'll be home in a little while." Aiden sighed.

"We'll be waiting." she said.

* * *

Alex held her hand the whole tie until they were called back. She changed into the gown that was provided and sat on the table with a sigh.

"Will you stop worrying? We'll get through this together." he promised just as Dr. Thomas came in.

"Hello again young lady. How have you been?" he smiled.

"Okay, I guess." Aiden replied.

"Let's start some of these test shall we?" he asked.

After blood work and other tests, she was allowed to change. She sat nervously next to Alex leaning into him for support.

Finally the doctor came into the room, papers in hand, "You are in fact pregnant."

Aiden frowned a little.

"That's not exactly bad news. You're already six weeks along, development is normal. When we get back your blood work we'll know how to proceed and how your body is handling this pregnancy. Until then, take it easy, lots of rest, eat well, nothing too strenuous, and absolutely **NO** stress." he instructed.

"Did you say six weeks? I'm six weeks pregnant?" she stammered.

"Yes." he said looking between them.

Alex's face was stoic, but just beneath that there was a whole layer of pain.

"Is there something that I should know?" Dr. Thomas questioned.

Aiden had her face in her hands weeping quietly.

"We were separated for awhile, and umm, only got back together two weeks ago." Alex informed, not sure how he found his voice to speak.

He nodded pensively, "Aiden, you have options…you're still very early into your pregnancy."

She shook her head, "I just want to go home."

* * *

When they returned home after a silent car ride, Aiden dropped her purse in the chair and went upstairs to their bedroom.

She crawled under the covers ignoring her tears by trying to go to sleep. Why had she been so stupid to think that she couldn't get pregnant? She knew birth control pills were not foolproof, that was quite obvious actually.

How was she going to tell Adam? They hadn't spoken in weeks.

And Alex? What was he going to do?

She cried into her pillow for awhile before Alex came upstairs to join her. He got in the bed beside her and molded his body to hers.

He kissed her cheek surprising himself how at peace he was with the whole situation, "Whatever you decide I'm with you one hundred percent."

She rolled over to face him, "I'm so sorry Alex."

She buried her face into his chest sobbing.

"Shhh…I love you no matter what. I want you to know that. If you want to keep it, then we will. It's whatever makes you happy." he quieted her.

She looked up at him, "I'm having another man's baby, how can I be happy?"

He smoothed her tears away, "It may not seem like it now but we can get through this. I'll be here for you no matter what."

She searched his face for the answers to her questions, "Why would you want to stay with me? You did hear him right? I'm having…_Adam's_ baby."

He stared at her for several moments before he smiled, "There are several reasons I'm staying with you. You're my wife, my soul mate for starters, and this baby you're carrying is half of you. Anything that is a part of you or belongs to you, I will always love. Leaving you never crossed my mind. You being pregnant with his kid is my doing anyways. I was dumb to think there wouldn't be a line of guys wanting to take my spot, and I allowed that to happen."

She ran a finger along his collarbone, "I don't have to keep it."

His dark eyes watched her face seeing the flicker of fear, "That is totally your decision, but we both know that's not something you would do."

"I'm so scared of going through all of this again." she admitted finally.

He pressed his lips to her forehead, "So am I babe, so am I, but I've got another idea. Why don't we not tell anyone about the paternity. He'll be ours all along and no one will know the difference."

"Except for when he looks nothing like you. Look at Joey, he looks exactly like Adam." she said skeptically.

He looked a little defeated, "It's whatever you want to do. I just thought that maybe it would be less stressful."

She kissed him softly, "I know. Thank you for being so great about this."

* * *

Alex let her sleep for a little while before waking her to go get Lexie.

He scooped his daughter up and held her above his head when they walked into Chris and Ajay's house. She giggled and squealed before squeezing his neck tightly.

"So how did everything go?" Chris asked putting a hand on Aiden's stomach.

She glanced at Alex before answering, "Fine, everything was normal, the baby is healthy. They did a lot of tests on me, and we're waiting to get those back."

His infamous concern was back in full force, "You're _okay though right_? Did he say anything about….last time?"

Alex stepped in, "She's fine. We'll know more when her blood work and stuff comes back."

"What about how far along you are?" Ajay asked settling Kenzie on her hip.

Aiden sighed knowing she wouldn't be able to keep the secret from them, "I'm six weeks along."

"So it **IS** Adam's?" Chris choked out.

"Yeah, but we're thinking about leaving that part out." Alex interjected, "I don't think she's made up her mind whether or not she wants to tell him."

You could almost see Ajay turn red, "Wonder who came up with that idea?"

She sat Kenzie down who had begun to whine.

As soon as the toddler had taken Lexie's hand and was around the corner, Ajay got in Alex's face, "How would you feel if it was your baby and Adam suggested that she not tell you? Are you really that pathetic and heartless?"

Alex was only slightly phased, "The decision hasn't been made yet, _Ashton_."

"I can't believe you would even bring that up! Adam has a right to know about his child." she argued.

He laughed then, "Yeah because he did such a great job with the first one. Lexie, baby, come on, we need to go."

She teetered over and went into his arms easily.

He glared at Ajay, "This is her decision, remember that Ashton. I don't want her to go through another falling out with you."

"Go fuck yourself _PATRICK_." she snarled.

"Bitch…" he mumbled under his breath as he went out the door grabbing his daughter's bag.

Ajay's features softened when she locked eyes with Aiden, "Please reconsider. He has to at least know."

"I'll think about it if you promise me you won't tell him before I decide what I want to do." she bargained.

Ajay rolled her eyes, "This isn't right and you know it."

"Ajay, come on.' Chris pleaded, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Whatever." she dismissed, "We'll see you in Orlando I guess.'

Aiden mouthed 'thank you' to Chris who smiled weakly and nodded.

He found Ajay pouting in her chair after he walked Aiden to the car. He sat on her playfully trying to smother her.

"Get off of me crazy ass." she laughed pushing on his back.

He let his body go limp and draped himself over her even more, "Only if you won't be in a bad mood."

She struggled against him even more until he put his hand on her face.

"Chris!" She screamed.

He got off of her grinning when he saw her fighting a smile.

"You're a dork." she muttered.

"But a really hot and sexy one right?" he asked leaning down for a kiss.

She met him halfway for a peck then frowned, "He's my brother though."

"She's your best friend. I'm with Alex, I don't want the two of you to have another fight.' he said.

"I'm not going to fight with her. I'm mad that Alex is influencing her to even _entertain_ the possibility of not telling Adam. That's my niece or nephew she's carrying." she pointed out, her voice straining slightly with emphasis.

Chris sat back, realization washing over him.

He moved her bangs from her eyes, "Babe, this isn't the same situation that Joey was in. Aiden isn't Addison"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

He knew he hit the nail on the head, "She will do what's best for the baby no matter what. Look at what she did to protect Lexie."

"I don't want to talk about that." she cried.

He pulled her to him, "Okay, don't get all upset. You know Joey doesn't like to see you cry."

He felt her nod against his shoulder.

"She's probably in shock and needs to organize her thoughts first, you know how she loves to organize, look at our alphabetized pantry." he joked.

Ajay laughed through her tears.

"Everything is going to be okay. She's going to need you, especially if this pregnancy is anything like the last one."

Ajay wiped her eyes on her sleeve with a tiny smile, "You're still a dork though."

* * *

**_So Adam's the father...can't wait to hear what you think about that one!_**

**_Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, babygirlleahrox ~ Keep doing what you do! xoxo_**

**_*Only 6 reviews from 100! Make it happen hotties!*_**


	30. Fight Club

**_Thanks to TJ Sparkles for being my beta!_**

* * *

"Are you sure you want to stay here? Why don't you come to the Impact Zone with us?" Alex asked for the tenth time.

"I don't really feel well. I'm nauseated and my back is killing me." Aiden whined from the bed.

"Okay, I'll take Lexie with me so you won't have to worry about her." he said, his brow furrowed with indecision.

"If I need you I will call you." she sighed, kissing his cheek before snuggling back under her covers.

* * *

"Hey Buggy, I'm glad you decided to come up to see me." Jay greeted when his sister came into his living room.

"I had to get away for a little while. Gran has the kids, Chris was going to work, and I feel like getting drunk." she said.

He smiled, "You came to the right place. Adam's coming over later; he's been in a pissy mood this week, so he'll probably join you."

She nodded indifferently, though she was anything but.

* * *

Aiden woke up several hours later to answer her phone.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Cookie, what are you doing?" Ajay slurred.

"I was sleeping." she said, rolling onto her back, her hand resting on her stomach.

"Will you do me a really big, huge favor so I won't get in trouble?" she asked.

"And what would that be?" Aiden asked warily.

"Come get me from Jay's house so Chris won't be mad that I got drunk." she giggled.

"Why would he be mad?" she asked.

"Coookkkiiieee…" Ajay whined, "Because he'll have to drive all the way up here to get me. Please?"

"I'm leaving now." she sighed heavily.

The urge to go back to sleep had never been more tempting.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ajay squealed before hanging up.

She smiled to herself despite the nagging guilt. Adam was in the living room talking with Jay. He looked worn, the sadness still in his eyes. The more she drank, the more pronounced his suffering became to her. She made up her mind to get Aiden up here and maybe when she was face to face with him she would reconsider not telling him that she was pregnant.

He had been very careful to avoid any conversations about Aiden; he never could mask the pain in his face when her name was brought up. He had forgiven her before he had even reached the door; his pride had stopped him from begging her not to leave him. Her absence hurt more than anything.

Ajay nervously fixed herself another drink while she waited for Aiden to show up. She figured the more drunk she was, the easier it would be to convince Aiden it was just a drunken slip up and not intentional at all. The doorbell rang awhile later causing her brothers to look around.

"Who the hell is that?" Jay asked curiously, going to the door.

"Wow, uh, I didn't know you were coming." he said, giving Aiden a hug.

"Ajay didn't want to call Chris to come and get her so she called me instead." she sighed, "How have you been?"

"Pretty good." he said, going into the living room.

She stopped short, seeing Adam laid back on the couch. One arm was behind his head, his long legs bent casually, his hair was tousled around his face, and his green eyes were on her.

"Hi." she said, wetting her lips nervously.

"Hey." he replied quietly.

"Ajay, are you ready to go?" she asked, avoiding his stare.

"Sit down for a little bit, Cookie. You just got here." Ajay patted the seat between her and Adam.

"We need to get back so you won't be in trouble with Chris, don't we?" she asked, not moving to take the seat.

"Sit down; you look tired, have you been getting enough sleep? You haven't been sick have you?" Ajay worried, still slurring her words slightly for emphasis.

Aiden shifted nervously, "I'm fine, can we go please?"

"You just got here, what's the rush?" she asked innocently.

Aiden glared at her knowingly.

Jay's face changed, "You're not _that_ kind of sick again are you?"

She tried to stay passive when he understood Ajay's attempt at covert questioning, but was unsuccessful.

"Oh fuck, Aiden." he said quietly.

Adam was the only one left out of the loop and he was not one to be left out.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking between the three of them.

No one said anything. He could read the fear on Aiden and Jay's face though, and was worried that she could be in some kind of danger.

"Somebody tell me what the fuck is going on." he reiterated.

Aiden crossed her arms angrily, "I'm pregnant."

Adam felt relief right before the weight of sadness fell on him again. He knew this would happen; he knew his plan would backfire. Karma is only a bitch if you are.

He swallowed his pain and pride, "Congratulations, I'm sure you and Alex are thrilled."

She nodded stiffly.

"Aiden." Ajay spoke up suddenly.

They exchanged a heated stare that Adam hadn't missed.

"You have to." Ajay said.

"I don't have to **_do_** _anything_ Ashton." Aiden snapped, "And I really don't appreciate being set up either."

Ajay's stomach dropped, she really had only been trying to do what she thought was the right thing.

"I know I shouldn't have, but this is the right thing to do." she said.

"It's not up to you!" Aiden said shrilly.

Adam held out his hands in front of both girls, "Okay, NOW what the hell are you talking about?"

Aiden glared at Ajay with tears in her eyes.

"Please, please, please, Aiden." Ajay begged.

Tears fell down Aiden's face as she turned to Adam, "The baby is yours, not Alex's."

"We're having a baby?" he asked slowly.

She nodded, not looking at him.

His elation suddenly turned to fury, "You weren't going to tell me?"

She didn't answer, her own anger of being forced to divulge her secret silencing her. The alcohol he had consumed did nothing but increase his volatile mood. He pushed off the couch and had her jaw in his hand to make her look in his eyes, "You really weren't going to fucking tell me you were pregnant with my kid? Why the hell would you do that?"

She defiantly kept her mouth shut.

"Answer me!" he yelled, shaking her slightly.

"I didn't know it was yours! I didn't find out until the doctor told me how far along I was. I wasn't sure what I was going to do either. I didn't want to involve you until I had made up my mind." she shouted back.

"I'm the father, I should be involved in the decision making process. You can't just shut me out like that. Alex wanted you to have an abortion, didn't he? Because it was mine and not his?" Adam yelled.

"He never said that. He said he would support me with anything I wanted to do." she defended.

He shook her again, hard enough to make her stumble to catch her breath. Ajay pushed Adam back and helped Aiden sit on the couch.

"Why the fuck is that even an option? It would have never been brought up if Alex was the father. You can't just fucking get rid of my kid. I won't let you." he argued.

Aiden stood up quickly, almost hysterically crying now, "You don't know anything! I would have had to consider that option regardless of who the father was. You have no idea why me being pregnant terrifies me! So just shut the hell up Adam!"

Ajay pulled her back down and rocked her gently trying to calm her. Adam really knew something was up when Jay went to Aiden's side. He was always the peacemaker and was partial to both sides.

Adam knelt down in front of her, "Tell me then. I want to know everything, because if you're scared then so am I."

She sniffled several times before speaking, "I was really, really sick with Lexie."

"Okay, like how sick?" he interrupted.

"I couldn't eat, I threw up all the time, I would black out, and my blood pressure was through the roof because I was stressed out all the time." she said.

His brow furrowed, "Why were you so stressed out?"

"Nobody knew Alex and I were together, much less married and expecting our first child. The stress of trying to hid that from everyone was too much and stupid on my part." she hesitated.

"You're not telling me something. I want to know what happened, everything." he said.

Jay looked over at his sister knowing that Aiden had left her part in the ordeal out on purpose. They both knew that as far as Aiden was concerned, Ajay abandoning her never happened.

"It's okay Cookie. You can tell him what happened." she assured, even though the embarrassment of her actions was creeping up already.

"There was a misunderstanding when Kenzie was born." Aiden finally spoke.

"Kenzie?" he asked.

Aiden nodded, "Chris kissed me, it was purely platonic but Ajay saw it otherwise. She thought that Chris wanted to secretly be with me and that scared her enough to push me away and choose not to be friends with me any longer."

"I abandoned her like an evil idiot. I knew everything, how sick she was and all of her secrets and used them to blackmail her into staying away from Chris. She needed me to take care of her and I left her. When Alex found out, he came to Bailey's where we were all having dinner to confront me, and we all had it out. Everybody found out that they were married and that Aiden was pregnant. That night she went into labor and…." she trailed off, tears flowing down her face recalling when she burst into the room and saw Aiden for the first time.

"And what?" Adam asked angrily.

"And during the c-section I fell into a coma." Aiden finished.

He stopped breathing when he processed the last part of the story.

"For how long?" he asked quietly.

"A week or so, I think." Aiden replied, "The hardest part for everyone and why I'm so afraid is that I actually died and was thankfully revived. That's when I finally woke up."

"Fuck." he muttered, standing up and going to the window.

He felt like he was going to be sick. He had been euphoric when he found out the baby was his, but now that he knew about her past, he couldn't help but think she was carrying a death sentence. Maybe she should choose to abort the baby. He was selfish enough to want her to survive over his unborn child. The only constant thought that was running through his head was how awful she must have felt, how scared she must have been. The night that Alex had taken Lexie for the first time replayed as well. That was just one night of misery. How had she endured nine months of that? He turned back around to see Ajay comforting Aiden and thought it was absurd.

"You blow my mind, Ajay. How can you sit there and worry and protect her when you caused half of her problems? I don't even know who you are anymore, Ajay. You weren't fucking raised like that." he accused, needing to take his fear and anger out on someone.

"Nothing you can do or say will make me feel any worse that I already do. I will never forgive myself for what I did to her." Ajay said, fighting tears.

"I don't want you near her while she's pregnant. She's not going to depend on you and then get jerked around because you get your signals crossed! Fuck that!" he shouted.

Aiden stood up, "I've forgiven her and I don't want this brought up again. I don't like to think about it and certainly don't want you to throw it in her face. Drop it, right now, I mean it."

They could see him fighting the urge to mouth off again. He was not one to always do what he was told. He turned to Aiden again, "So what do you want me to do? What do you need from me?"

"I don't need anything at the moment. I'm waiting on several tests to come back to determine if I'll even be able to carry another baby. Please don't get your hopes up just yet." she frowned.

"I want to know when you go back to the doctor so that I can be there." he said.

"I don't think that's a very good idea. I don't want to have to deal with you and Alex being together just yet." she said, grimacing at the scenario.

He ran his hands through his hair, "Well, that's tough shit, it's my baby, not his. Tell him to stay home."

"Adam, chill out." Jay tried to intervene on Aiden's behalf.

"No, hell no! I didn't put up a fight when she decided to be with him, but I'll be damned if he thinks he's taking my kid too. Who's to say he wouldn't convince you to get rid of the baby because it isn't his? I'm going to be a part of this baby's life and I don't give a shit what anybody says." he argued.

"Really, Adam? Really? You are such a fucking dumbass!" Ajay yelled, "You're going to be there for her and this baby but not for Addison and Joey?"

He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, "This is completely different. I love Aiden and she's not some obsessed drug addict."

"I'm not talking about just Addison, what about Joey? Why do you want to be a father to this baby and you didn't want to with Joey? What's the difference? They're both innocent children, why are you giving this baby a chance?" Ajay yelled.

She allowed the tears to fall then. She always got emotional when it came to Joey, he was her soft spot.

"I was there for Joey as much as I could be. Do you honestly wish things had turned out differently? He's your son, I thought you were happy with that." he said.

"I would change everything if it meant that he would have never gotten abused. He would still be my nephew, he would know you as his real father and maybe Addison wouldn't have turned out like she did. I would give anything to spare Joey what he went through." she yelled vehemently, "So again, why this baby and not Joey?"

"Because it's mine and Aiden's baby, not some drunken mistake with a drugged up loser." he yelled back.

Ajay stomped her foot, "That's exactly my point! You NEVER cared about him! He was always in your fucking way and so was Addison. I just want to know why Adam, why do you care now?"

"Maybe I want to be around so you don't try to fucking kill Aiden and her baby again." he seethed through his teeth.

Jay caught Ajay when she lunged at Adam. She was clawing in the air hoping to come in contact with him to do some form of damage.

"I HATE you! I fucking hate you Adam, and I NEVER want to see you again!" she screamed.

Aiden grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs before he could say anything else. He followed her into the guest room and waited as she closed and locked the door behind them.

She turned to him, "You shouldn't have said that to her, Adam."

He shrugged.

"We really need to talk about everything, just you and I." she informed.

He knew he was in trouble, and went to her putting a hand on her cheek, "Stay with me for tonight."

She pulled away from him when she began to feel his magnetism begin to draw her in.

"I can't, that wouldn't be right. I'm _with_ Alex." she declined.

"I know you are, but you're pregnant with _my_ baby, and we do need to talk." he argued, stepping back to her.

He tentatively pulled her into an emotional hug. It was like every muscle in his body relaxed while he had her in his arms. She felt so right exactly where she was.

She pulled away again and looked up at him, "Let me call Alex and see what he says."

Adam nodded hopefully.

Maybe it was destiny for them to be together after all.

* * *

**_Thanks to SoliePower, babygirleahrox, xSamiliciousx, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, and Sarcastic Nightmare for reviewing._**

**_Also I would like to apologize for not replying to you guys :( For some reason my alerts are all messed up, I'll do better this chapter, I promise!_**

**_*Please Review! Thanks!*_**


	31. Three's Company

**_Thanks to all you who reviewed!_**

* * *

He was standing by the window looking at the world with a new perspective when she walked back in.

He turned to look at her, "What did he say?"

She shrugged, "He was very understanding and agreed that we needed to talk things through."

"You look tired." he said.

"I am. Being pregnant takes a lot out of me." she sighed laying down on the bed.

He laid down beside her, "That scares me."

She shook her head, "I'm not going to worry about anything until the tests come back, so you shouldn't either."

He ran the back of his hand down her cheek, "Aiden, you died, and from the sound of it had a very scary pregnancy. I can't NOT worry about that."

Tears formed in her eyes, "I would really like it if we didn't talk about that."

He studied her for a long moment before he decided to leave it alone.

"You shouldn't have said those things to Ajay. You really hurt her tonight." Aiden frowned.

He rolled his eyes, "I wish she would just stop asking me about Addison and Joey. She brings them up every time I try to do something even remotely responsible and it pisses me off."

"You need to tell her what you told me." She said softly.

"No." he growled, "I told you because I trust you and you've never judged me for what I did."

"Adam…" she tried.

"No, Aiden. She wouldn't leave it alone even if I did tell her. She's always going to hate me for giving her what she wanted. She always wanted a baby and was having problems having one of her own so she took Joey. I don't see what the big deal is." he argued.

"You know what the problem is, don't play dumb with me. She only wants answers and she's only going to get worse the more involved you get with me and this baby. You're going to have to talk to her sooner or later." she said.

"Fine, lets change the subject." he gave in, seeing that she was getting upset, "I think that we should go back to the way things were when you and Alex were separated."

"What?" she asked, shocked by his statement.

He sat up on his elbow, "Stay with me at my house, keep Lexie during the week and let Alex take her on the weekends. That way I can be around you and help you and take you to doctor's appointments and stuff."

She laughed at how absurd he was being, "I can't do that. Lexie is finally comfortable again. She loves being around both of us, I can't just take her away from that."

"She was fine being around you and I. We had a lot of fun the three of us." he said.

"I'm sorry, "I'm not going to do that to her. Alex would have a fit if I told him I was staying with you." she frowned.

"This is MY baby, NOT his!" he raised his voice.

"And I'm the one carrying it, therefore I have the final say. Don't make this difficult." he hissed.

"I'm trying to make this as easy as possible for everyone. I'm the father, so I should get a say on where you both are!"

"Where is this coming from?" she questioned.

"Its about Alex, alright? We hate each other for the same reason and it freaks me out you being pregnant with my kid around him." he explained.

She narrowed her eyes, "What are you trying to say?"

"You're very important to me, both of you, and I don't think he gets that because the baby isn't his. Knowing what I know now makes me even more determined to make sure you get taken care of this time."

She scoffed, "Alex takes very good care of me. You have nothing to worry about there."

"You're either going to stay with me or I'm going to stay with you until the baby is born. Its up to you." he finalized.

"Adam, I have to discuss this with Alex before I make any final decisions." she laughed.

She couldn't believe he was being so serious about this.

"I'll talk to him if I need to. Either way I'm going to be involved in every aspect of your pregnancy." he said defensively.

She couldn't really be mad that he was asserting himself so strongly. She knew his past, she knew the whole story, and realized he must be trying to make up for those mistakes. For whatever reason he felt comfortable around her, comfortable enough to be involved in her pregnancy. Alex had been combative, defensive, and protective of her too when she was pregnant with Lexie. She really couldn't justify faulting him for something that had always come naturally to him.

She put a hand on his clenched jaw to turn his head back to her, "I'll talk to him, but you have to promise to not antagonize him. He's not going to like having you there. It won't be easy, but I think he'll understand once I explain everything to him."

"As long as her understand that I have a say in anything that involves our kid we'll be good." he stated, "I'm going to be included in doctor's appointments, to hold your hand, to see the baby for the first time, decorating the nursery, going shopping with you, everything."

She smiled, "You really are excited aren't you?"

He nodded, resting a hand on her stomach, "This is the best surprise I've ever gotten. Having a part of you is a good consolation since I can't be with you."

She blushed slightly, he was always so romantic with her. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, parting her mouth with his tongue. She was lost in his kiss, lost in the heat that he was giving off. He groaned into her mouth as his hand went to the fastening of her jeans, his other hand cupped her breast.

She pushed him away, "I can't do this."

He looked slightly upset,.

"No one would have to know. I wouldn't say anything." he assured kissing her again.

"I would know. I can't do that to Alex." she said pushing him again.

"I'm not going to push you babe, but just know if Alex isn't making you happy, you've always got me." he grinned.

She laughed, "I'll keep that in mind."

They both stripped down to their underwear and got back in bed.

Adam snuggled up behind her, "I'm glad you to ld me about everything."

"I didn't really have a choice." she joked, "But I'm glad you know now too."

He kissed her cheek, "Good night, I love you."

"I love you too." she sighed.

* * *

The next morning the girls got up early to drive back to Orlando; Ajay and Adam completely ignored each other when saying their goodbyes. When they got home Alex rushed outside to greet his wife.

"Are you okay? You sounded pretty upset last night." he fretted.

"I'm fine. I was just caught off guard." she smiled, kissing him.

He glared at Ajay, "Yeah, I wonder why you felt like that? Too bad people can't mind their own business and keep their mouths shut."

"Suck it Alex. I'm not putting up with your shit right now." she shot back.

"What crawled up your ass?" he retorted.

"She and Adam got into a fight last night." Aiden answered for her.

Alex shrugged indifferently, "I got everything packed up last night so we can make that early flight. I'm ready to head home so you can relax."

She kissed him again and looked up into his eyes, "Nothing happened honey. We talked and I fell asleep. You don't have anything to worry about, you know I love you."

He grinned sheepishly, "That obvious huh?"

She ran her fingers through his curly faxback, "I know you worry babe, even when you have nothing to worry about."

He pulled her into a tight hug, "I love you too and I'm sorry."

"We do need to discuss something though." she frowned.

"I don't like the sound of that." Alex groaned as they went inside.

Aiden sat down so Lexie could crawl in her lap, "Adam insists on staying with us during my pregnancy."

Alex laughed, "Well he can go fuck himself. He's not staying at my house."

"Alex!" Aiden frowned, "Watch your mouth!"

He crossed his arms, "Hell no. I don't care if you are having his baby, he's not staying in my house. No way."

Ajay high fived Alex as she walked by. She would exact any kind of revenge against Adam she could.

"I told him there were going to be a few rules, especially about not antagonizing you. He promised he would behave." she told him.

Alex's eyes bugged out., "So you already told him he could stay with us?"

"No, I told him we would discuss the possibility, but he really is insisting. He's not going to take no for an answer." she said.

"Who the hell does he think he is? He's not going to just make demands and expect everyone to comply. That's bullshit." Alex smarted off.

Aiden thought for a moment, "Put yourself in his shoes. What if I was married to him…"

"I'd probably shoot myself." Alex interrupted.

Aiden glared at him, "Don't say that."

He heaved a breath and waited for her to continue.

"What if I was married to him and was pregnant with your baby? Wouldn't you want to be with me every chance you got?" she asked.

"This is a lot to handle, take that into consideration. Look at everything I have to deal with, you're pregnant, probably high risk again, with your ex-boyfriends baby, and now you're telling me he's moving in with us to be around you more and to be a pain in my ass." he argued.

Tears formed in her eyes, "I didn't want this Alex. You act like I got pregnant on purpose just to make your life miserable. This is hard for me too. I don't want to put you in this position."

He steeled his jaw, trying not to let her tears effect him. Seeing her cry killed him though.

He went to her and kissed her, "I want you to be comfortable and if having him there does that, then I'm fine with it."

"No you're not. You hate each other." she cried.

He shook his head, "I love you more than I hate him. I don't care what I have to do to prevent what happened last time, I'm going to do it."

He was already planning an intense workout session to take his aggression out. He would cope with this less than ideal situation for her because there was no way he would allow her to go over to Adam's alone.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

There were subtle ways he could make Adam suffer as much as he was too. Being clingy and all over Aiden would push his buttons. Loud sex sessions would kill him. He smiled, this could definitely work to his advantage.

**

* * *

**

ONE WEEK LATER

* * *

Alex was sitting in his daughter's room letting her play dress up with him. He was trying to keep his mind off of what was happening in only a few short moments. Adam would be here, at their house, moving into the guest room on a semi permanent basis.

He sipped his imaginary tea as he fumed.

That dirty motherfucker would have his hands all over Aiden. "Innocently" touching her stomach, hugging her any chance he got, maybe an "innocent" peck on the lips for good measure. Adam had grown close to Lexie too, much to his dismay. That was definitely his hot spot. Adam knew to watch himself around Aiden, he hoped he knew to be even more careful around Lexie. His fuse was the shortest when it came to his daughter. He rolled his eyes hearing the doorbell. Eight more months of purgatory began now.

Aiden opened the door smiling brightly at Adam on the other side, "Hi."

His green eyes were dancing as he hugged her, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." she said.

"Good. I'm going to make sure you stay that way too." he said kissing her cheek.

He closed the door behind him and locked eyes with Ajay on the couch, "What is she doing here?"

Aiden put her hand on her forehead, "Adam, don't start off on the wrong foot please. She's my best friend and she's not going anywhere got it?"

He glanced at Ajay, "Don't try any shit with her."

"Go. Fuck. Yourself." Ajay said slowly.

"You're seriously going to let her stay?" he asked incredulously turning to look at Aiden.

"Yes. I've already asked you to please not bring that up again." she sighed.

He gestured sarcastically at her, "Sorry for trying to protect you and my kid geez."

Ajay blew out her bangs internalizing her fury at her brother. If anything the baby should be protected against HIM not HER. Typical for Adam to distort the truth to benefit himself.

"Please, both of you stop." Aiden cried.

Alex came rushing downstairs then, "Back off Copeland."

Adam snorted, "Nice tiara Shelley."

Alex took the crown off his head and the feather boa from around his neck, "You need to understand a few things before you even drop your bag. One Aiden cannot be upset, so keep your fucking issues in check. Two, Lexie is off limits. Stay away from her so you won't confuse her. Three, Ajay had more than made up for abandoning Aiden so leave her alone about it. I need her help to keep both Aiden and I sane through this, so if you have a problem with that there's the damn door. You're a guest in my house, so fucking act like it."

Adam bit his tongue painfully when he saw how upset Aiden had become.

Ajay smiled smugly pulling Aiden to sit between her and Chris.

"Hello?" Alex answered the ringing phone, "This is her husband."

He eyed Adam as he drew out the word. His cocky attitude fell immediately. All eyes were on him as he listened carefully to the person on the other line.

"We'll be right there." he said hoarsely.

Aiden could see him trying to hide the fear in his eyes.

"The test results?" she asked, hot tears falling again as ice water filled her stomach.

"Get your coat, they're waiting for us to get there." he said as calmly as possible.

Chris quickly went to help her into her coat.

"Cookie, please stay calm okay?" Ajay hushed, hugging her tightly.

Adam broke them up, "We need to go."

Alex held out his hand, "Whoa, you're not going. You'll just stress her out."

Adam had his arm around Aiden, "I need to be there for her."

"You don't know how to handle these situations. Stop wasting our time, we need to leave." Alex grated out.

"How many times do I have to remind you that this isn't your baby! _You're_ the one wasting time." Adam bristled, walking to the door.

Aiden stopped short, "Pleas stay here this once. I would feel more comfortable with just Alex."

"Don't give him what he wants babe, he's being a bitch because he can't accept that he's not the father. I am and I need to be there for you." he said.

"Stop being so selfish and do as she asks. Go ahead and call us when you find out what's going on." Ajay said pulling her way from Adam and shooing them out the door.

"Get out of my way Ajay." Adam growled down at his sister.

"Go to hell. She said she didn't want you to be there, what part of that didn't you understand?"

"The part where its any of your fucking business!" he bellowed.

A small whimper stopped Ajay's retort. Lexie was standing in the doorway, tears shimmering in her frightened eyes.

Adam's face fell, "Come here Angel, I'm sorry."

Chris picked up the little girl rolling his eyes at Adam.

"Way to go douche." Ajay smarted off following Chris out of the room.

He dropped onto the couch running a hand through his hair. He was disgusted with himself. He had made Aiden upset, made Alex look like a saint, and had frightened Lexie to top it all off.

Was there really any wonder why he never stepped up to be a father to Joey? He was only a couple of weeks into trying to be there for this baby and was screwing up already. He heaved out a breath praying that Aiden and the baby were going to be okay.

* * *

**_Sorry for any typos :( _**

**_REVIEW! Please and thanks :)_**


	32. Banshee

**_And now for te chapter you've all been waiting on!_**

**_Enjoy lovely readers of mine :)_**

* * *

Alex had driven as fast as legally possible to get to the doctor's office. It was like there was a ticking time bomb and he was in a race against it. Every time he glanced over at Aiden she was blinking back tears and taking deep breaths.

He parked the car, barely, before he ran around to help her out. He rushed her up to the door where they were escorted back to one of the rooms. The doctor came in before Aiden could even get settled.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked quickly.

Dr. Thomas had not stopped staring at Aiden until finally referring back to his charts, "I wasn't aware that you were trying to get pregnant. I had advised a consultation, if you will recall, before you were to alter anything."

She looked appalled, "I know that. I told you that I had no intention of getting pregnant at all. I haven't changed anything."

He looked like a disappointed parent, "Your blood work came back and the results say otherwise. Your hormone levels are no where near normal, your body is chemically all out of synch."

"Wouldn't her being pregnant mess up her hormone levels?" Alex defended.

He was quickly getting mad that Aiden was being backed into a corner.

"Not to this extent. You haven't been taking any other medicine than what we spoke about have you?" he asked, keeping his eyes on Aiden.

Tears sprang up in her eyes, "No, of course not! Look for yourself."

She dug in her purse to retrieve her pill box for the week. She thrust it to him, determined to prove her innocence. Alex went to her side to comfort her as the doctor and nurse poured over the medication. They were jabbering back and forth until finally turning back to them.

"You're upsetting her and I'm not going to stand for it. If you don't believe her, then we can always find another doctor, that's no problem." Alex stated.

"I told you I haven't changed anything." she sniffed.

"These aren't the pills that I prescribed." he said gently.

Shock was all over her face as her jaw dropped open, "Yes they are! That's my birth control, which I stopped taking when I found out I was pregnant, and those are my vitamins, and my blood pressure medicine."

He shook his head, "These pills have been tampered with. This…" he held up her "birth control pill", "Is a fertility drug, something you would take If you were having trouble getting pregnant. This increases your chances of becoming pregnant, I prescribe this before I suggest Invitro to couples."

He picked up one of her "vitamins", "This is an antibiotic, probably used to negate the effects of the birth control quicker. And these are all different vitamins, folic acid, vitamin C, etc."

"That can't be. I don't know how they got there. I didn't do that." she exclaimed, going as pale as the sheet she was sitting on.

"Neither of us have even considered the possibility of having another baby. She almost had a meltdown when she found out because of the whole situation last time. She certainly wouldn't _plan_ to get pregnant." Alex said.

"Tampering with someone's medication is highly dangerous not to mention illegal. If someone did this without your knowledge, I would contact the police. We need to get your body stabilized so your baby won't be effected." Dr. Thomas informed becoming very serious, "We need to schedule an overnight stay to regulate some of these hormonal levels immediately."

Alex was prompted right away when he heard and saw that Dr. Thomas was taking this very seriously, "Why don't we go ahead and get started? If this can effect the baby then it could effect her too right?"

Dr. Thomas nodded, "We can move you into the hospital and begin right away."

Aiden shook her head, "Schedule this for in the morning, first thing."

"We kind of need to do this now babe." Alex argued.

"I need to get a few things done first." she said softly.

"We'll see you first thing in the morning then." Dr. Thomas said, pulling Alex with him outside while she changed, "Do you have any idea who would do this to her?"

"No, not at all. I had no idea about any of this. She's been perfectly normal, much better than when she was pregnant with Lexie."

"Make sure she's here in the morning, this needs to be taken care of immediately." Dr. Thomas said.

"She'll be here. This may not be my baby, but I don't want anything to happen to either one of them." Alex said feeling the need to reassure.

"Keep an eye out for her, she doesn't need to be stressed out either." he advised.

Alex nodded.

Aiden came out of the room, still in a semi-dazed state. Alex helped her into the car and began the drive home much slower than their arrival.

"Babe, are you okay?" he waited for an answer, "Do you know who did this to you?"

She stared out the windshield making no movements. He saw her hands were trembling violently as they pulled up into the drive.

"Did you need me to help…where are you going?" he asked jumping out of the car to chase after her.

She came up behind Adam who was watching TV on the couch, "Get. Up!"

Ajay and Chris whipped around to see who had said that. Aiden didn't sound like herself at all.

"What's wrong? Is it the baby? Are you okay?" Adam asked propelling himself over the back of the couch.

Aiden let out an unworldly shriek and launched herself at him. She fought him valiantly, clawing his skin leaving long red whelps, some of which were bleeding. Slapping at his face viciously, snatching on handfuls of his hair. For all Adam knew she had cloned herself and he was being attacked by two of her at the same time. He couldn't seem to fend her off.

It took Alex and Chris both to pull Aiden off of Adam. She screamed like a banshee looking every bit as crazed as she felt.

"What the fuck? Aiden…the baby…what are you doing?" Adam gasped crawling on is knees to her.

He cupped her face gently, hoping to get some answers. She freed her arm and swung her fist, connecting with his jaw and sending him sprawling on the floor. She screamed again, the sound alone was enough to make the hair on your arms stand on end.

Suddenly comprehension dawned on Alex, "It was _him_?"

"I could **KILL** you Adam! How could you betray me like that? How could you be so reckless and selfish, my God!" Aiden screeched.

"What are you talking about?" he asked sitting up slowly.

His head was throbbing and he was sure there were little birdies flying around his head.

"The pills Adam, don't play dumb! You switched my pills around to get me pregnant. I thought I was on birth control the whole time!" she accused.

"Is that true?" Ajay asked suddenly feeling sick.

He couldn't bear trying to lie his way out of the situation.

He buried his face in his hands, nodding slightly, "I didn't know how bad she had it with Lexie, or I would have never done it."

"It doesn't matter whether you knew or not, you don't fuck around with people's medicine you dumbass." Chris bellowed.

"You thought that if you got her pregnant she would stay with you huh?" Alex asked more mad than he'd ever been in his life.

"I thought that maybe even if she didn't stay with me that at least I would always have a connection to her with our kid."

Aiden broke out of Chris and Alex's grasp and grabbed two handfuls of Adam's shirt. She was livid, no beyond that, she was crazed as she looked at him, "Your plan didn't work because not only am I going to stay with Alex, you're not going to get the opportunity to be a father either."

His eyes bulged at that, "No Aiden! Please don't do that! This is my fault not our baby's!"

"I never wanted to get pregnant with you! You made me your fucking guinea pig so I would be forced to stay with you. What kind of man does that?" she asked hysterically, "How does it feel to have all of your options taken away? To know that your plan backfired and you're going to be left with nothing and no one? Pretty shitty huh?"

"Please don't get rid of our baby. I'll do anything!" he begged tears forming in his eyes.

"How could you do this to me Adam? How could you tell me you loved me when you knew what you had done?" she cried.

Chris stepped forward again putting his arms around Aiden.

She slapped Adam a final time, this one leaving his ears ringing, "I _hate_ you!"

Chris coaxed her upstairs to her bedroom planning to give her the medicine that calms her down as soon as they got up there.

"You know as badly as I would love to beat you to a bloody pulp right now, you're not even worth the effort. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my house before I change my mind." Alex ordered heaving in deep breaths.

"You would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes." Adam choked out, "You would do anything to keep her. You love her just as much as I do."

"I would never betray and endanger her like that. I love her enough to let her go before I could ever think about hurting her." Alex hissed through clenched teeth.

He was shaking with the effort it took to restrain himself from killing Adam where he stood.

"We would have never gotten together if you hadn't hurt her in the first place." Adam said quietly.

Ajay jumped between them finally coming out of her daze, "Alex stop. Go upstairs with Aiden, she needs you. I'll make sure he leaves."

He couldn't just do nothing, he couldn't just let Adam force Aiden into having his baby, he had to retaliate somehow.

He grabbed both of Adam's large suitcases and flung them out the door into the snow. He smiled when one opened as it rolled, spilling all of the contents out. He went upstairs without looking back.

Adam moved slowly outside, kneeling on the cold ground to pick his clothes up out of the slush. He zipped up his bag and tossed them both in the trunk.

He trudged over to his sister indescribably broken. His heart, pride, and soul were barely surviving the torment he had made for himself. He was at a complete loss and had never been more worried in his life. He couldn't fathom the amount of pain he was dealing with was over the possibility of losing a child he had never met, had never even seen yet. He had never felt this sort of connection to Joey.

The pain compressed his chest and made it difficult for him to breathe. He stood at the bottom of the steps unable to find the strength to look up at Ajay . She was standing with her arms crossed as still as a statue, weeping.

"Ajay can you please talk her out of it? I'll do anything." he begged through his teeth, biting back his emotions.

He looked up at her to see if she'd heard him. More tears had fallen, she had indeed heard him.

"I can't do that Adam." she whispered.

"Why not?" he gasped through the spear of pain.

"Its her baby, its her well being, its her decision. I can't tell her to keep something that could kill her." she hissed.

Adam winced at her words, "Its your niece or nephew though Ajay. How can you let her punish an innocent child?"

"Its not my decision I told you." she snapped.

His shoulders slumped down even further. She focused on the house across the street as she found her voice to speak again, "I don't want to be around you anymore Adam."

He looked up at her trying to figure out what she meant.

"I have never been more disgusted with you in my entire life and I can't stand to look at you. Don't call, don't come around, stay away from my family." she paused taking a shaky breath, "As of right now you and I are no longer brother and sister."

"Ajay, wait…" he called out as she went inside slamming the door in his face.

He clenched his entire body in an effort to stop from feeling everything. What more could he do?

He had ruined lives today…including his own.

* * *

**_So what did you think? Was that punishment enough for him? Review and let me know what you think!_**

**_*thank you so much to MotorcityGirl, Solie Power, xSamiliciousx, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for reviewing*_**

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	33. Allies

**_Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, SoliePower, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx for their wonderful reviews! Love ya'll!_**

**_Hope this is up to par :)_**

* * *

Ajay checked in on the children who were being entertained by Chris. She went down to the bedroom at the end of the hall and knocked softly. She stepped in seeing Alex sitting in the chair by the window looking incredibly dangerous at the moment.

"Is he gone?" he asked, his voice sounding like steel.

Ajay nodded.

"Too bad." she heard him mutter.

She went to the side of the bed where Aiden was laying facing the wall.

She knelt down eye level with her best friend, "Are you okay?"

"I feel like I've been raped.," she whispered slowly.

Chris had succeeded in making her take her medicine obviously. What could she say to that?

"I'm sorry for what he's done to you." she said, feeling it was grossly inadequate.

"I've never felt so used and hurt in my entire life." she said almost dreaming, "I think I would have tried to kill him if we were alone."

It was hard for Ajay to discern whether she was speaking from her heart or from the drug. Her eyes certainly looked glazed over.

"I don't think anyone would have blamed you." Ajay told her quietly.

She hated the spaced out look on Aiden's face, it took her back to the Bahamas when she was pregnant with Lexie.

She gathered up all of her courage, "Aiden, were you serious about getting rid of the baby?"

"Yes." she breathed.

"Have you thought about it though?" she asked, more tears pricking the back of her eyes, "It's not the baby's fault."

She looked up to see if that had made Aiden mad or not. It hadn't because she had already passed out.

She pressed a kiss to the younger woman's cheek and pulled the covers around her more. She rose to her feet and made her way around the bed to Alex. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't apologize for him Ajay." Alex requested.

She closed her mouth just as quickly as she had opened it, resting a beat before speaking, "Did you want Chris and I to take Lexie with us for the night?"

His eyes went back to his wife before he nodded.

"I'll get her stuff together, you stay with her." Ajay said going to gather up Chris and the kids.

* * *

Joey excitedly helped his sister and the smaller Lexie down the stairs.

Ajay's heart ached, what would she have done if Addison had decided to abort Joey? Her life would have never felt completely whole.

Was she already grieving Aiden's baby that she planned to dispose of? She stiffened her resolve when Joey returned to pull Chris along next.

Alex had ventured out to kiss his daughter good night and to tell her to behave, not that she ever didn't.

Would Adam be that doting if he were given a second chance at fatherhood?

She stopped to squeeze Alex's hand again, "I'm so very sorry Lex."

He gave her a tight nod before Joey returned to fetch her as well.

**

* * *

**

LATER THAT NIGHT

* * *

Chris was finally successful in getting Lexie to sleep. She had cried for her Daddy for fifteen minutes until Chris was finally able to soother her and put her in the crib.

"That girl is pitiful when she cries." he announced closing the door and taking off his tear stained t-shirt, "And so are you, what's wrong baby?"

She shook her head, hiccupping several times. She had really worked herself up in no time. Crying until her face was red and her eyes were swollen and puffy. Her head was throbbing with a migraine from pouring out her emotions as well. It was that kind of crying jag.

The whole night she had watched her son and pondered the different situations that life could have taken him. Unfortunately, she had also included Aiden's unborn baby into the mix and everything had gone south quickly emotional wise for her. She pictured Joey playing with his half brother or sister, and proudly showing them off and protecting them from the older kids they sometime encountered as he already did with "his girls".

Lexie hadn't helped matters either. She had done nothing but made it easier for Ajay to form a mental picture of the child, and substantially increase the water works. Having a hard time getting pregnant herself and having to endure two miscarriages had made her a bonafide softie where babies were concerned, especially the defenseless, innocent ones like her precious Joey.

Aiden was no Addison, yet she had planned to do something that Addison had never done(thankfully) and that was to not even have it. It had been difficult to compare and wrap her mind around comparing the two polar opposite women. The only thing they had in common was that they both had fallen for and were severely disappointed by her shit for brains brother…no, no…**EX **brother. She had forced herself not to include him in any of the fantasies she had conjured up, he didn't deserve even that.

"Ajay, talk to me." Chris pleaded in his softest voice.

She rolled her eyes, "I-I-I d-don't want Aiden to get rid of the b-b-baby."

She saw his eyes darken and guessed that he had been hoping that wasn't what she wanted to talk about.

"You think that she should have an abortion?" she squeaked.

He closed his eyes, his mouth twitching like it always did when he had to tell her something difficult.

"I think that it's her choice, and whatever she decides I'm going to support her." he said, his voice surprisingly even.

"So that's what you would do if you were her?" Ajay cried.

He sighed, "If I were in her situation I would probably do the same thing, yes."

She pushed him away, "That's not fair!"

She didn't care how childish it sounded at the moment, "Addison had it way worse than Cookie and she never even thought about getting rid of Joey."

Chris had been in the process of going back to comfort her but stopped abruptly.

She could tell she was dancing along the thin line with Chris where Aiden was concerned, and may have just crossed into no man's land. Chris was not known for his temper at all. He had developed and even temperament where Ajay was concerned out of necessity to her being her natural flirty self with most of the men on the roster at work. He had developed a much longer fuse to combat her fiery temper and spontaneous nature.

His fuse was shorter when it came to Joey and Kenzie and surprisingly even shorter when it came to Aiden. He would fight in a moments notice for his children if need be, he would go to bat to defend Aiden in even the slightest slip of the tongue. He had taken her under his wing before everyone except of course Alex.

It had taken Ajay awhile to understand and come to terms with their relationship and all of its dynamics but she did and was thankfully not as threatened by it anymore. They had a deep friendship, nothing more.

His eyes were bright blue again, electric like their daughter's, "How did she have it _worse _Ashton? Adam fucked up her medication and intentionally got her pregnant. He lied to her face, used and manipulated her to get what he wanted. Addison had a walk in the park. She made it difficult on herself."

"She didn't have anyone to support her like Aiden does though." Ajay argued.

"She had _YOU_! She was better off without Adam obviously. He stayed away and she had the baby. He got involved and played God with Aiden and now he's getting burned for it." he tried unsuccessfully not to raise his voice.

"But what about the baby? Why should it suffer for what Adam did? That's Joey's half brother or sister!" she sobbed.

He gritted his teeth trying to reel himself in some. He'd be damned if he and Ajay were going to get into an argument over Adam.

"So you're telling me that you wouldn't do what she's going to do? Think about it Ashton, say I'm Alex and Bobby is Adam." he said, laying it out for her.

"_No Chris_!" Ajay blanched at him bringing up her ex.

"What if Bobby had done this to you in an attempt to keep you all to himself? What if he had tricked you like Adam did Aiden, what then? Would you be able to keep his baby knowing that he did that to you?" he asked not backing down from the sensitive subject.

"I can't believe you brought him up.," she cried into her hands even though she could.

He could be pretty ruthless and convincing if he needed to be to sway people to Aiden's side.

"Answer me Ajay. Could you do it or would you do exactly what Aiden has chosen to do?" he pushed.

"I couldn't have his baby, you know I couldn't, but that's not the same situation either. Adam was very wrong and I don't know if I'll ever forgive him, but what's done is done. She could at least reconsider couldn't she?" she pouted pitifully.

He pulled her into a reassuring, loving hug, "I'm not saying you have to agree with her decision. It's probably the most difficult one she will ever make, and she's going to need us, you especially to pull her through. You know that couldn't have been easy for her to decide. Please just support her, that's all I ask."

She nodded reluctantly. How was she going to support Aiden discarding her niece or nephew because of what her brother had done?

She knew she would fight for this baby no matter what Chris or anyone else thought or decided.

* * *

Adam had gotten a room at a nearby hotel and had promptly called a cab knowing that if he stayed in the room he would surely go mad. He couldn't be alone right now, yet he didn't want to be with anyone. He was dropped off at a small pub that was crowded but not overly so.

He tugged his beanie down lower onto his head in an effort to go unnoticed. Fortunately, everybody seemed to be enthralled in some football game on all of the TV's. He found a seat at the end of the bar and started a tab, promising a generous tip if his drink was never empty. He tried to focus on the game in an effort to block out the pain that seemed to be dulling a bit. He did a quick scan around the room not seeing anyone or anything unusual or interesting until he locked eyes with a familiar blonde-haired woman at the opposite end of the bar. She seemed to be alone, but didn't make an effort to engage him other than a polite raise of her glass. He nodded before turning back to the game.

As the night wore on and the game ended in an unfavorable blowout the bar seemed to clear out considerably. No one thankfully wanted to drown their sorrows. Soon he and the blonde were the only ones left at the bar along with a few others playing pool behind them. He saw her out of the corner of his eye staring at him and tapping her manicured fingernail on the bar. She gathered her purse and drink and took the seat next to him.

"Hey lonesome." she smiled.

"Hey yourself." he replied gruffly.

Mollie frowned, "What's that about?"

He chewed on his straw pensively, "Worst night of my life that's all."

She nodded, "I heard Alex and 'Saint Aiden' got back together. That wouldn't have anything to do with it now would it?"

He shrugged, "No, this was all my fault actually."

She didn't seem surprised, "Do tell. Aiden couldn't handle the baddest of the bad boys?"

"I did her wrong. Very wrong actually." he murmured.

Mollie sipped her drink, "And now you're an outcast, nobody will speak to you, and you've been disowned?"

He looked at her in shock, that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

She laughed bitterly, "I've been in your shoes buddy, and I know how not fun it is. You don't go up against 'Princess Perfect,' it's a losing battle every single time. She's got a ten foot wall around her at all times and their names are Alex, Chris, Ajay, and about ninety-nine percent of the world's population."

He smiled, "No love lost there huh?"

"None at all. So why don't you tell me what you did that was so wrong?"

"She's pregnant." he started.

Mollie spit out her drink, "_YOU KNOCKED HER UP_?"

Adam rolled his eyes, "Yeah, thanks for letting everybody know."

"No wonder they kicked you to the curb, that is totally going to tarnish her image." she grinned.

"Here's the kicker, I planned for her to get pregnant. I switched out her birth control pills and took her on a romantic getaway so she would have sex with me again and yeah, they found all of that out." he finished.

Mollie was silent for a very long time making him even more uncomfortable.

"Wow. That's pretty awful." she finally spoke.

"Worst part of all is that she's going to get rid of the baby because of what I did." he said sadly.

"She's going to have an _abortion_?" Mollie asked her eyes growing wide.

He nodded raising a shot to her, "Fuck my life."

He threw it back making a face as it burned down his throat.

"She doesn't want to do that. It's the worst decision she could make." Mollie said, sounding very far away.

Adam looked at her curiously, "I don't want her to do it, but I really don't have a choice."

Mollie wiped a tear from her eye, "She doesn't have to go that route. She has a lot of other options; people that can help her."

Adam narrowed his eyes at her, "Mollie, did you have an abortion?"

She looked up at the ceiling, her bottom lip trembling, "Don't judge me alright."

He shook his head, "No, I'm not. I had no clue. I wouldn't have brought it up to you if I had."

"It was a long time ago. I was really young and scared and knew that neither one of us were ready to raise a child." she explained.

He nodded, thinking it best if he stayed quiet.

She took a deep breath, "Look, I'll talk to her if you want. I doubt the little fairy will listen but I'll try."

"That would mean a lot to me if you would do that.," he said, finally feeling a little bit better, "I think it might be a good idea if you didn't tell her that we talked."

"I wasn't going to." she smiled again.

"I never realized how much we have in common until just now." he mused.

She laughed aloud, biting the olive off its stick, "The people we love are in love with each other. Sounds like a pretty good soap opera."

He laughed too, "That would be even better if you and I ended up together."

She sat back in her seat, a smirk playing on her beautiful face.

He turned five shades of red, "You know in the soap opera…not in real life of course, because you're really attractive and I'm….old."

He shook his head and ordered another drink.

Mollie giggled and leaned back onto the bar, "I knew what you meant, but I'm flattered nonetheless."

"It was probably the alcohol.," he said shaking his whiskey sour around, "You're more interested in mohawked pretty boys with big egos and little brains."

Mollie laughed again, she loved challenges.

"And you're more interested in spoiled rotten, angelic little princesses who have manners and morals to make up for their lack of a back bone." she batted her eyelashes sarcastically.

He clinked glasses with her, "Well played. It seems you're pretty experienced in that game."

She nodded, "I have plenty of experience with bad boys, who pine for good girls. Pretty pathetic if you ask me."

He looked over at her with the most delicious evil smirk she'd ever seen, "Maybe its time you found a bad _man_, to show you what the bad_ boys_ are doing wrong."

She flushed a little before finishing her drink, "I need to get back before Petey and Bailey lock my ass out."

She fished out her credit card to pay her tab but Adam covered her hand, "I'll get it. Consider it a thank you for talking to Aiden for me."

"I'm not guaranteeing anything.," she cautioned.

"I know, I appreciate the effort.," he said solemnly.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, before turning to leave. Adam watched her go over his shoulder. He turned back to the bar taking the last olive out of her drink and popping it in his mouth. Mollie was definitely a welcome and unexpected surprise.

At least he had an ally now.

* * *

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	34. No Regrets

**_Ya'll are gonna be maddd...lol_**

**_This chapter goes out to two of my faves: Alice Jericho and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight_**

* * *

"Alex isn't here." Aiden sighed, rolling her eyes when she answered the door.

"Well that's perfect because I want to speak to you." Mollie replied haughtily, "Are you going to let me in?"

Aiden scoffed and turned to go back into the living room.

Mollie came in and shut the door behind her, "Aren't we 'Miss Manners' today?"

Aiden took her seat on the couch, curling her legs beneath her. Mollie remembered what her purpose for being there was and figured she'd better make nice.

"You're hair looks pretty today." she began, not knowing where to start.

Aiden sat with her arms crossed not responding.

Mollie sighed and figured she had better just blurt it out, "I heard what happened the other day with Adam."

"Word travels fast." Aiden said sarcastically.

"And I also heard what you were planning on doing, and I think that will be the worst mistake of your life." she said, waiting for the backlash.

"And since when do I care what you think_ Moll_?" Aiden asked snidely.

Mollie bit her tongue for a moment; silently reminding herself that she would probably be a little defensive too had someone try to talk her down.

"Because I did what you're thinking about doing." She admitted quietly.

Aiden turned to her then, a look of disbelief on her face, "When?"

Mollie chewed on her lip, "Just before my eighteenth birthday."

Aiden's eyes were full of tears, "Was it Alex's?"

She shook her head feeling the shame and embarrassment creeping up, "It was Chris'."

Aiden tried not to gasp, but she couldn't help it.

"It was one stupid mistake when I was mad…" she trailed off ruefully.

"Do they know?" Aiden wondered.

"Yes, they know, that was a lovely argument we had. I thought they would never speak to me again." she remembered, "The point is I was young and alone. I didn't have anyone I could turn to. You, you have _everybody_. There are so many other options Aiden. You don't _have_ to do this."

Aiden started crying, "What else can I do? Keep it? I feel so sick when I think of how this baby was conceived. If I would have gotten pregnant by a legitimate accident I could have accepted that, but he lied to me. He used me."

"That's Adam's fault, not the baby's." she pointed out.

"Do you regret it?' she asked.

"Sometimes. I love kids, and there are times when I think about if I would have kept the baby. I would have a ten year old now." she grimaced a little at the thought, "But then I think about how everyone's lives would be different. Chris and Ajay probably wouldn't be together and Alex would be doing God knows what. You're a wonderful mother, Aiden. That we can agree on. If you decide to keep the baby, it will be so lucky, because I know he or she will be spoiled just like you."

Aiden rolled her eyes, "And if I don't?"

"You'll still be a great mom, but you may have to live with this regret your whole life. You'll think about it all the time, all of the possibilities, the what ifs. It's up to you. I just think you're better than that."

Aiden was still crying as Mollie was trying to think of something else to say. She turned hearing Alex walk in from the garage.

"Hey baby…what's going on?" he asked, setting Lexie down so she could scramble into Mollie's arms.

"I'm going to go lay down for awhile." Aiden announced before Alex could start his usual line of questioning.

He dropped into the chair opposite of Mollie, one of his hands covering his brow, "Haven't I asked you a thousand times…"

"I didn't start anything with her. We were just talking." she said defensively.

"About?" he prompted sarcastically.

"Her situation and what she was going to do about it." she answered him.

"She doesn't need to be anymore stressed out than she already is." he groaned.

"How are _you_ handling all of this?" she wondered noticing the circles under his eyes.

"I could kill definitely kill Adam. And Aiden…I just want her to be okay. It doesn't matter to me what she decides, I know we'll be able to get through it. I just worry about her being able to live with the decision she makes." he told her.

"You don't think she'll be able to go through with an abortion?" she asked.

He shook his head, "It's just not her."

"That's what I think too." she added softly, "Are you going to raise Adam's kid as your own?"

"I'll do whatever she needs me to do." he confessed.

She smiled sadly, "That's why I love you Lex, you're so cute when you're committed."

"I thought that's what you hated about me." he joked.

She rolled her eyes, "That too."

"What did you say to her about everything?" he changed the subject.

"I told her about Chris and I." she said quietly, "I wouldn't wish that on anybody."

He went to her and pulled her to his chest, "I'm sorry for jumping all over you."

"You haven't done that in almost two years." she laughed at her innuendo.

* * *

The next day Ajay called Aiden to see if she wanted to go shopping to try and get her mind off of things.

"I'm just not in the mood." Aiden declined.

"You're not in the mood to go shopping? Is the sky falling?" Ajay teased.

"I made the appointment for tomorrow." Aiden said gently

Ajay's throat closed up, "What appointment?"

"At the clinic." Aiden clarified.

Ajay was desperately trying not to scream and throw a fit.

"Can I come over then?" she stammered.

"If you want." Aiden said indifferently.

"I'll see you in a minute." Ajay hung up the phone.

She felt for sure that Aiden wouldn't do it, especially after talking to Mollie. The drive to Aiden's seemed to take years instead of minutes. She went inside to find Aiden flipping aimlessly through the channels.

She fidgeted slightly, "I didn't know you were going to do this so soon."

"I just need to get it over with." Aiden said.

Ajay could tell she had "checked out" and had already begun to compartmentalize the situation so she would be able to cope with it.

Well she wasn't going to let her. At least not easily.

"What time do you go tomorrow?" she asked, trying to keep herself together.

"In the morning. I'm going to stay at an outpatient treatment center for a day or two afterwards." Aiden commented, leaving out a few too many details than Ajay liked.

She thought for a moment, "So you want Chris and me to watch Lexie then?"

Aiden shook her head, "Alex will keep her here at the house."

"So who's going with you?" she asked.

"I'm going by myself. I want to go and deal with it and come back and move on." Aiden said matter-of-factly.

Ajay was panicking a little, "Alex wouldn't let you go by yourself. That's ridiculous, you need someone with you. I'll go if you don't want Alex to."

"No! I'm going through this by myself and that's it. I don't want anyone there holding my hand; I don't want to involve anybody in this, so just drop it. No more." Aiden shouted, finally at the end of her rope.

Ajay hugged herself and cried on the couch. She had never been more desperate and completely out of ideas before in her life.

How could she help Aiden if she didn't want it?

She touched Aiden's arm gently, "Will you do me one favor then? Can we go and at least get a picture taken of the baby?"

"I'm not getting another ultrasound done. A picture would be a reminder and make things that much worse." she dismissed.

"Please Cookie, please do this for me. This is the only way I'll be able to deal with this." she sobbed.

Aiden steeled her jaw, unable to listen to Ajay cry anymore, "This isn't going to change my mind, and I hope you know that."

Ajay hugged Aiden tightly, "I know that. Thank you!"

"I need to change." she said pushing away from Ajay.

It was so hard to be around Aiden when she detached the way she did. She felt helpless when Aiden got that way and it really hurt her feelings more than anything.

* * *

After Aiden changed and called the doctor to set up an appointment, they set off to get a final picture of the baby. They were silent the entire trip there and the short wait to be called back as well. The nurse came in to begin the ultrasound, and Ajay scooted closer to take Aiden's hand.

"I remember you. We didn't get to finish last time because you weren't sure you were pregnant or not." the nurse smiled, "I'm glad you're back so that we can finish and make sure everything is normal."

Aiden nodded and looked at the screen.

"Okay, there it is. They've got their back turned to us, must be a little camera shy."

"Sounds like you already." Ajay smiled through her tears.

"We'll move over here for a better view." the nurse chirped, moving to the right side of Aiden's stomach, "Okay that's better. There's baby number one, and right there is baby number two. You're having twins!"

"_**WHAT?**_" Aiden sat up.

"Stay calm. See, there's one little heart beating, and there's the other one." the nurse smiled as she pointed on the screen.

"Thanks but can you just snap a picture so we can go or before you find any more kids in there."

"Sure. I would talk with Dr. Thomas immediately about this. He may want you to change some things, dietary, exercise or otherwise." she informed handing her the picture.

Aiden wiped the jelly off of her stomach and left the room quickly. Ajay thanked the nurse, and then followed after Aiden in a hurry. She was already in the car waiting for Ajay to drive them back home.

"I can't believe you're pregnant with twins! That's crazy." Ajay smiled.

"Not really Ashton. I was on fertility pills, antibiotics, folic acid, and having unprotected sex with your fucking brother." Aiden spat.

Ajay chewed on her lip the whole ride home not entirely sure how she survived the hostility that was filling the car.

She finally found the courage to speak when they pulled into Aiden's neighborhood, "You're definitely going to have a belly this time. There's no way you can hide two babies."

Aiden slammed the door once she was out of the car. Her heels were even clicking angrily on the pavement.

"I'm not going to have to hide anything. I'm not going through with this pregnancy; I told you that ultrasound wasn't going to change anything."

Ajay swallowed the sob she felt rising; she couldn't deal with Aiden aborting _one_ baby, much less _two_.

"But your appointment isn't until tomorrow, why do you have your bag?" she scrambled to block the door to the garage.

"They said that they could take me earlier if I wanted, now move." Aiden ordered.

"Please think about this please, for me." she cried, pulling the picture of the twins ultrasound out of her jacket pocket, "Please don't do this to them. If you just have the babies, Chris and I will adopt them like we did Joey."

Aiden threw her hands up sarcastically, "Right and then I'll have a constant reminder of what Adam did to me, and how selfish I am, that will be perfect Ashton. Get out of the way. Now!"

Ajay grabbed Aiden's face desperately, "Please Aiden, I'm begging you. We'll figure something out. I swear we will, just don't get rid of those babies."

Tears fell from her honey colored eyes, "Ajay…I don't want to die again, not yet. Savannah and Alex can't lose me, not now. So please…if you love us. Move out of my way."

Ajay finally moved aside clutching the door railing, "Can't I go with you? You shouldn't be alone…Cookie?"

Aiden slammed her car door and threw it in reverse before Ajay could make it off the steps.

"Aiden! Wait!" she called running down to the end of the drive to watch Aiden speeding out of the neighborhood.

She doubled over with unbearable agony.

She pulled out her cell phone to speed dial Alex, "Lex! Do you know where Aiden was going for her procedure tomorrow?"

"No, she said we'd talk about it tonight. What the hell is wrong?" he asked urgently when he heard her sobbing.

"She's left to go do it now. Just now. Alex…what should I do?" she cried.

"Go inside. Chris and I will be there in a few minutes. I'll see if the the cell phone company can get her GPS coordinates." he instructed shakily.

Ajay stumbled back inside and collapsed on the couch in a fit of sobs. Every time she looked at the pictures of the babies she began anew.

* * *

Chris and Alex arrived home thirty minutes later. Alex went upstairs to put Lexie down for her nap. Chris pulled Ajay into his arms trying to calm her down some.

"Did you get the GPS?" Ajay hiccupped.

He shook his head, "She turned her phone off and took the battery out. You didn't see which way she went did you?"

"No…" Ajay began crying harder then before, "I should have followed her. I asked her to take me with her."

Alex came back downstairs in a panic, "Ajay, what made her change her mind?"

She slowly handed him the picture.

He dropped the picture like it had burnt him, "Fuck…we've got to find her."

Chris reached out for the picture and leaned over to hold it under the light.

"She's having twins?" he gasped.

"Which means we need to find her twice as bad." Alex rushed putting his coat back on, "Ajay stay here with Lexie, and just in case she comes back."

She held on tightly to Chris' hand to prevent him from leaving, "I'll go crazy sitting here by myself."

"Mollie is over at Bailey's I'll call her and get her to come over here with you." he said kissing her a final time before rushing out the door.

When they left, more tears filled her eyes as she picked up the picture and held it to her heart.

She closed her eyes, her head tilted up toward the heavens, "Pops, if you can hear me, please watch over these little babies…"

* * *

**_R.S.V.P. ~ Review si vous plait_**

**_*Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, xSamiliciousx, Sarcastic Nightmare, Solie Power* _**

**_My bad ass reviewers!_**

**_ xoxo_**


	35. Slip Of The Tongue

**_Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, Solie Power, xSamiliciousx, babygirleahrox, grleviathan for their reviews! Love ya'll!_**

* * *

As the hours crept by everyone grew even more restless. Alex and Chris came home well into the wee hours in the morning unsuccessful in their attempt to locate Aiden.

"Thanks for coming Mollie." Chris said giving Ajay a kiss.

She nodded, feeling it was the least she could do. Alex looked like someone was holding a hot poker on his skin.

"You know, not to bring this up again, but I was okay after mine. I just had some cramps but that was really it." Mollie informed.

"She could go into a coma again when she's put under, and she could have used a fake name. So for all we know she's laying on some table somewhere either scared and alone or in another coma." Alex grated out before leaving the room.

He'd had all he could take and needed some sort of release.

"We don't know if that's true or not. Maybe she's in recovery already. Or maybe she changed her mind altogether." Chris explained when he saw Ajay's eyes go wide.

"I shouldn't have asked her to go get that ultrasound. I pushed her into this." she cried, "It will be my fault again if she goes into another coma."

"No its not. She was going to do it either way. She had already made up her mind. She would have found out that she was having twins eventually, that was inevitable." Mollie comforted.

They spent the rest of the night trying to find something to keep them occupied. Lexie woke up early the next morning crying for Aiden. Ajay and Chris came downstairs around ten to see Alex cradling his daughter who had fallen asleep again.

"Anything from Aiden?" Chris yawned.

Alex shook his head. He looked like hell. He hadn't slept or eaten anything since the day before.

"Did you want some breakfast?" Ajay asked.

He shook his head again kissing Lexie gently.

Mollie woke up around lunchtime and kept Lexie entertained while Chris and Alex went looking for Aiden again. When it started getting dark again Alex was nearly in tears after another search turned up nothing.

"Should I put out a missing persons report?" he frowned.

"I think you should Lex. I'm really scared something has happened to Cookie." Ajay cried.

He picked up the phone and called the police, "This is um…Patrick Martin, and I would like to file a missing persons report. My wife left yesterday afternoon and she hasn't come home yet."

"Sir, you have to wait forty eight hours before you can file a report." the dispatcher dismissed.

"Yeah I know that, but she's pregnant and needs medical attention." he argued.

"Why did she leave Mr. Martin?" she asked.

Alex closed his eyes, "She was upset about being pregnant. I think she went to get an abortion, but I'm not sure. I just really need to find her so I can get her to her doctor."

"Sir, did the two of you have an argument about this matter before she left?" she asked.

"What? No, she made a snap decision before I got home to talk to her. We didn't have a fight, are you kidding me?" he said, his temper flaring.

"Sir, we need to ask these questions to determine if a report is needed."

"So a missing pregnant woman isn't enough for a fucking report?" he shouted.

"Under the circumstances, there is no need to be alarmed yet sir. If you would like to call back tomorrow to file a report after the forty eight hour time limit you can do so then. Until that time, we can't do anything for you. She's not a minor, and I assume she doesn't have a history of going missing, so unfortunately our hands are tied until tomorrow."

"Thanks for nothing." Alex shouted, slamming the phone down, "Fuck!"

Lexie whimpered and hugged Mollie tighter. She picked her up and went upstairs to give Alex the space he needed to vent.

Ajay held Chris' hands trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through tonight." he said quietly, tears in his eyes.

* * *

By the next afternoon, even Mollie was beginning to worry some. Aiden hadn't called; they couldn't find her car, even after several more searches. Ajay was crying almost constantly now. They had all resorted to counting down the minutes until Alex could call the police back to file a report. Forty five minutes before they could call Aiden surfaced. Nobody moved, they all just stared at her in relief.

Alex finally went to her and pulled her into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

She nodded reassuringly.

"Are you in pain baby? Do you need to sit or lay down?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"I couldn't do it. I stayed at a hotel the first night and then checked into the hospital this morning to get the tests done." she said quietly.

"You didn't do it? You're going to keep the babies?" Ajay asked more than a little relieved.

Aiden nodded slowly, "I talked to a few people at the hospital who are going to help me through all of this."

Ajay sent a silent prayer up to her Pops before she went to Aiden and hugged her.

"We'll help you out with anything you need, you know that." Chris promised.

Aiden sat down on the couch and pulled out several more pictures to show Ajay.

"I got these just for you. Since the other one was so rushed." she said handing them to her.

Ajay perused the pictures with tears in her eyes, "They're so tiny and all snuggled up together. Look Chris."

He looked over the pictures too, "I think somebody is happy about being an aunt again."

Aiden frowned, "If you don't mind, can you not tell Adam about the whole twins and not going through with the abortion yet? I want to make sure that Alex, Lexie, and I are comfortable before he's involved in anything."

"Not a word. He's dead to me anyways." Ajay agreed, "And don't go running off like that again. You scared us to death!"

"Alex what's wrong?" Aiden asked, noticing that he and Mollie hadn't said a word.

"I don't think secrets are the way to go, or did you forget how well that went over before Lexie was born. Adam deserves to know that you're having twins or at the very least that you decided to keep the baby." Mollie argued.

"He doesn't deserve shit." Ajay balked.

"Whatever, I'm out of here. Call me if she decides to disappear again." she rolled her eyes.

"Alex? Are you mad that I'm keeping the babies?" Aiden asked.

"No. I'm worried about the consequences." he stopped his brow furrowing; "Lexie and I could lose you because you decided to give birth to another man's kids."

Aiden wiped her eyes some, "You don't know that could definitely happen."

"I know the look on Dr. Thomas' face when he told you that you were pregnant again." he shot back, "You had enough problems with one baby, and you don't want me to worry about you having two?"

He got up and paced the floor, "I'm going to check on Lexie and go to bed. We'll talk about this later."

Aiden sighed to herself, "I was afraid he would be upset."

"You can't blame him for worrying about you though babe." Chris sympathized.

"I know." she sighed again.

* * *

The next morning Aiden woke up yawning and looked over at Alex who was already awake as well.

"What?" she asked when he continued to stare at her.

"You're already showing." he said softly.

She looked down at the small protrusion with a smile, "I don't think I'll be able to hide them as well as I did Lexie."

"Nope."

'Honey, Dr. Thomas assured me that he was going to do everything possible to make sure this pregnancy goes a lot smoother. He did all sorts of tests to make sure that I wasn't even showing any signs of being sick and everything like last time." she explained.

"That's good. That should have happened the first time too." he smarted off, "I just know that this is a very stressful situation and I know what happens when you, stress, and being pregnant combine. I almost lose my fucking wife."

"It's not going to be like that this time." she said.

"I know that when Adam gets involved in this again it's not going to be pretty. He's nothing but stress for you. He's got a temper that he can't control, he's overly possessive of you and these babies; he's just bad news. I don't want him near you until after you've had the babies." he growled.

She kissed him while rolling him onto his back, "You're so hot when you get like this."

He turned his head away from her, "I'm serious."

She straddled his waist and took her tank top off, "I can't keep him away forever darling."

He closed his eyes as her lips went to his neck, "Can we keep him away for as long as…mmmmhmm…possible?"

She nodded as she slowly took him into her.

His hands went to her hips to guide her, "This is why I can never argue with you. I can't think straight when you do this to me."

She kissed him again passionately, "We shouldn't be arguing anyways for the babies' sake."

She sat back, stretching backwards to rest on her hands as he rolled his hips into her.

"You're so kinky when you're pregnant." he groaned.

"_Kinkier_." she corrected.

"Right sorry." he smiled.

**

* * *

**

FOUR MONTHS LATER

* * *

"Bout time you answered the phone. Gran thought you were dead." Jay admonished.

"I feel like I am." Adam grated out.

"What did you think would happen with all of this bro? you had to know there was going to be some kind of fallout." Jay reminded.

"What did you want?" Adam asked angrily.

He wished at least one person could understand why he did what he did.

Jay sounded a little disheartened, "I wish you and Ajay would talk things out because it sucks that I have to be the messenger for both of you."

"Nobody asked you to do that. You just assumed the position." he shot back.

Jay sighed, "Anyways, Ajay found out that she's expecting again. I thought you would want to know."

Adam snorted on the other end of the line, go figure that Ajay would be pregnant after this whole debacle. Nothing like a nice "in your face" to top everything off.

"Good for her. I know she's excited." he said.

"She called last night talking a mile a minute. I had to slow her down twice so I could understand her." Jay said sounding more upbeat, "She she said they were going to go see

Gran in a few days. You know she'll love that."

Adam had stopped listening to Jay's rambling. He couldn't help himself from thinking about Aiden and how this news was affecting her. He tried not to think about her most days because it hurt too much, but he couldn't stop himself from asking this time.

He interrupted Jay's continued rambling, "How's Aiden been with all of this?"

Jay didn't miss a beat, "Oh she's fine, her and the babies are doing really well."

"What did you just say?" Adam yelled after picking up his phone.

Jay cringed; he was in deep shit now. Ajay was going to **KILL** him for slipping up.

"I said she's doing really well with it all." he recovered.

"No, you said _babies_, what the fuck did you say _babies _for? Did she not have the abortion?" Adam asked in near hysterics.

"Okay, first of all calm down." Jay began.

"I can be at your hosue in thirty mintues and beat the truth out of you if would rather me do that." Adam snarled.

"She didn't have the abortion. She found out she's expecting twins." Jay admitted.

"_Twins? Like two babies_?" Adam stammered.

"Yeah, but listen she's been doing really well. She's only had one complication so far and hasn't been sick at all. So don't go storming up there and stressing her out. I promised I wouldn't tell you until she was ready for you to know." Jay begged.

"She's five months already is she showing." he asked excitedly.

Jay groaned in frustration, "Yeah she's started really showing about two months ago. Did you hear what I said though? You have to promise me you won't go up there or call them or anything. I don't want Aiden to be mad at me or for Ajay to kill me either. Promise me Adam."

"Sure I promise." he replied breezily.

"I don't believe you." Jay said.

"I promise alright? I'm a little in shock right now that she's not having just one baby." he said.

"I gotta go, that's Gran beeping in. Answer the damn phone when she calls so you don't freak her out." Jay admonished.

"Yeah, okay." Adam griped hanging up the phone and dashing upstairs.

He yanked his suitcase from the hall close and hurried to his room while dialing a number from his contacts.

He was stuffing clothes into the bag, "Yeah, I need the first flight out to Detroit."

* * *

**_Adam's such an ass...but a cute one though :) _**

**_Review Maintenant si vous plait!_**


	36. Party Crashers

**_Hope you _like the chapter, sorry for the ridiculously long wait. My bad :(**

* * *

"Thank you for making dinner for us." Ajay smiled brightly.

"What better way to congratulate you on being pregnant again?" Aiden teased taking everyone's dirty plates.

"Let me do that. Go sit down." Alex said gathering up the last of the plates.

Ajay shot Chris a look so that he would get up to help.

"Joey, are you excited for another brother or sister?" Aiden asked wiping Lexie's fingers off.

He nodded enthusiastically, "I want lots more! I'm a good big brother"

"Yes you are. Kenzie and the new baby are lucky to have you." Aiden complimented.

"Is Lou going to be a big sister too?" he asked curiously putting his hands on her stomach.

"She is, but she's going to need your help too." Ajay answered for Aiden.

"Cause she's still a baby too." he finished.

"Tell me about it. What was A-Ten thinking?" Aiden asked shaking her head.

He patted her hand, "You're a good mommy, don't worry."

She leaned down to hug him, "Thank you Joey."

The doorbell rang making him scramble to the front door.

"Joey don't open the door." Ajay called a moment too late.

"Uncle Stinky!" he shouted.

Aiden went pale.

Ajay shot out of her seat "Stay here."

Adam was standing in the living room with Joey in his arms and a look of determination on his face.

"Joey, go upstairs and get ready for bed. Read Lexie a story okay sweetheart." Ajay instructed.

He took Lexie's hand and helped her upstairs.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Chris asked loudly.

"I want to see Aiden." he stated.

Alex sauntered in, "Well that's not going to happen. You've hurt her enough."

"I'm not asking. I know she's here." Adam said keeping his cool.

"She doesn't want to see you, and neither does Ajay so you need to just leave." Alex grated out.

"I know she didn't have the abortion and I want to see her and my kids." he said.

"How did you find out about that?" Ajay asked, completely shocked.

"Jay slipped up and told me when he was telling me that you were pregnant too." he explained.

"Look Adam, she's been doing really well. There's no need to mess it up." Chris said.

"I know that. I'm not here to start any shit. I just want to be included. Those are my kids and I've missed five months already. I thought she had gotten rid of them." he said staying very calm.

Aiden came into the living room. He was in awe of her being pregnant. He saw her as this dainty, fragile woman, but here she was carrying not one, but two of his children.

He swallowed his emotions, "Were you going to tell me about them? I've been mourning them Aiden."

"I was going to tell you Adam. I had several things to take care of before I included you." she said.

"I want to be here for you, you knew that." he frowned, "I've already missed five months."

"I had to get past what you had done. I was so mad at you." she lowered her eyes.

"Can we talk please and work through this so I can be a part of their lives?" he asked softly.

She looked over at Alex who was standing tensely nearby.

"Do whatever you need to." he said regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

She looked back at Adam, "Can you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure." he nodded, leaving the room.

"What are you thinking Aiden? This is the same guy that got you into this mess!" Ajay fumed, "He doesn't deserve the time of day much less to be involved in the babies' lives!"

"He's a loser, a liar, and a selfish asshole. You don't need him; you've been doing great without him." Chris agreed.

She had tears in her eyes, "I know what he did was wrong and it hurt me a lot to know that he was capable of something like that, but at the same time I can't exclude him. I just can't do it. He genuinely wants to be a part of their lives and I can't tell him no."

Alex went to her and lifted her chin up, "I'm with you in whatever you decide to do as long as it's not going to hurt you. I'm with _you_…not _him_."

She nodded and kissed him before going to find Adam.

"Alex, are you insane? You're going to let her go to him?" Ajay whispered furiously.

"_What choice do I have_?" he shouted abruptly lowering his voice; "If I fight her she'll be upset. If I try to keep her from him or him from her it could hurt her too. I have to do this to keep her safe. You think I enjoy sending her in there to him?"

Ajay rolled her eyes, hating the fact that she was going to have to deal with Adam again.

* * *

He stood quickly when Aiden came into the guest room. His heart was pounding hoping he said all the right words to convince her to allow him back into her life.

"I couldn't picture you with a belly in my head. It looks really heavy on you." he began.

She smiled down at her stomach, "They're much heavier than Lexie that's for sure."

She could see the nervous indecision on his face. She took several steps to him and put his hands on her womb.

He held his breath as he looked down at her, the moment hitting home with him, "I could have lost everything. You…them."

"I need you to understand a few things before this is a done deal." she said stepping back from him.

"Okay." he said eagerly.

"I'm with Alex, he's my husband and I will defer to him on everything. I want him to be comfortable during this no matter what. I would do the same if the roles were reversed." she said, "I need him through this."

He nodded understanding, "Because of last time right?"

She tilted her head with tears in her eyes.

He cradled her face and kissed her forehead, "I want what's best for you. I always have."

She pushed away from him again, "I'm still very hurt and disappointed with what you did. There could have been very serious consequences."

His face grew dark with his inner anguish, his hands drifting back down to her stomach, "There still could be."

"The bottom line is that I want to be a part of this. You're their father and I need you too."

Alex knocked on the door and poked his head in, "Are you okay honey?"

"I think so." she smiled, looking back at Adam, "I think we have an understanding."

"Good. Can you come and talk to Ajay? She's about to blow." he asked.

She looked up at Adam with trepidation,.

"We won't kill each other, I promise." he grinned.

She kissed Alex's cheek as she left the room.

"You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Alex stated lowly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adam asked narrowing his eyes.

"Remember the little part where you forced all of this on my wife in an attempt to get her to leave me for you? I could put my fist through your face every time I look at you." he reminded.

Adam inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"You step one toe out of line and I'll kill you. If one more tear falls down her face because of you, I'll kill you. No more of your bullshit, understand?" he growled.

Adam nodded tightly, caught off guard by his animosity. Alex turned on his heel and went back to the living room. Adam following closely behind him.

Ajay rolled her eyes when she saw her brother, "Aiden, I'm not going to argue with you anymore. He's not worth you getting upset over, but this is just not smart on your part."

Aiden frowned, "Please don't be upset and don't let this ruin your trip to Gran's tomorrow. Just think how excited she's going to be when you tell her."

Ajay smiled at that, Gran was going to be ecstatic; she couldn't wait to see her face.

"You're going to Gran's tomorrow?" Adam spoke up.

Ajay ignored him, "She's going to be so happy. I can't wait to see her face. She hasn't seen Joey and Kenzie in awhile either."

"Aiden, we should go and tell Gran about the twins too. That way we can get all of the baby news out at once." Adam said thinking out loud.

Ajay was on her feet in an instant, "You are not going up there with us! This is my moment and you're not going to ruin it."

"I just want to tell her about the twins Ajay." he said matter of factly.

"And then what? She didn't even know the two of you were _dating _much less expecting children." she hissed.

"I guess I'll have to explain everything to her then. She's not going to be proud but I'd rather her hear it from me."

"Adam…that's really going to overshadow Ajay's announcement. Maybe we can go another time." Aiden frowned.

"Why make an extra trip when we can go up there tomorrow? You'll have chaperones so Alex won't have to worry about you and we can go ahead and let Gran know about the babies." he argued.

"This is bullshit!" Ajay stomped off.

"Who said I wasn't going in the first place?" Alex interjected.

Adam sighed, "I didn't mean it like that. I just assumed that Aiden and I could handle this on our own…you know together. I just thought that you would stay here with Lexie."

"Don't assume things about me and my daughter. I've warned you." Alex remarked pointedly.

"Stay, go, it doesn't matter to me." Adam rolled his eyes, "But we're going tomorrow to tell Gran about the twins."

Chris threw his hands up with a huff and went to find Ajay.

"This is such a bad idea." Aiden groaned.

"I'll see you in the morning. Don't worry about it okay." Adam gave a lopsided grin.

He gave her a quick hug and left.

"Guess I should go pack." she muttered.

* * *

The next morning was noticeably tense as Chris and Alex were loading the car up with luggage. Aiden was holding her daughter in her arms trying to stay out of everyone's way. When Adam pulled up things got noticeably worse. He put his bag in the car as Chris was buckling Joey and Kenzie in. Aiden and Ajay came over to get in.

"You're up front with me." Chris growled at Adam.

"Why? I'll sit back here with Aiden." he argued.

"No. Up front. Now." he repeated.

"It's not that big of a deal." Adam scoffed.

"You're not going to be back there with my kids and my girls. You can either sit up front or stay here." he stated harshly.

The tension could be heard in his voice then. He put on his glasses and acquiesced when he saw Joey's wide eyes.

"Do you have enough room Ajay?" he asked after sliding into the front seat.

She refused to answer and turned in her seat to check Joey and Kenzie's belts.

This was going to be a long ass trip, he could see that already.

* * *

They stopped for gas and lunch a short while later. He let the others go in first so he could finally talk to Aiden, since he hadn't been allowed to in the car.

"You look like you're not feeling very well." he commented softly.

"I thought that I could handle going up here with you, but the closer we get the sicker I feel. I don't want to upset Gran. I don't want her to hate me Adam." she frowned.

His face turned angry, "What are you talking about? Gran could never hate you!"

"I cheated on my husband with you. She's not going to congratulate me for doing that." she exasperated.

"She loves you Aiden; you're a part of our family even more officially now. She knows about your complications too and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her great grandchildren. Its going to be fine, I promise." he assured.

Despite his best effort, she was still very unsure about the whole thing.

After everyone ate and Aiden pushed her food around her plate they got back on the road. They arrived at Gran's house to see her just stepping out onto the porch to take a bag of trash to the bin. Ajay turned in her seat to unbuckle the kids who were squirming excitedly. Joey and Kenzie bounded out of the door and were running to their Gran. She bent to hug and kiss them both.

"This is such a wonderful surprise." she smiled up at Ajay, "I'm so glad you made the trip up here."

"We had to come and tell you that we're having another baby in person." Ajay squealed.

Gran put her hand over her mouth, "Another baby? Oh sweetheart, I'm so happy for you, congratulations."

Ajay laughed with tears in her eyes as she hugged her.

"Get yourself over here Chris!" Gran called.

Adam and Aiden watched the happy scene from the car. He slid into the backseat with her and took her hand.

"They're all so happy and we're going to ruin it." she whispered.

He stayed silent as he chewed on his lip. He had thought this was going to be a good idea, but when he was faced with actually going through it, it lost some of its sparkle. Memories of getting an infamous Gran talking to flooded his head. She could yell at him for hours sometimes about the dumb shit he had done. He couldn't fathom how much trouble he was going to be in over what he had done to Aiden.

He turned to her, his brow furrowed in concern, "I love you okay, and we're going to make it through this."

She kept staring out the window, "I hope so."

* * *

_**The more you review the quicker I update! Love hearing from ya'll! xoxo**_

_**Thanks to Sophie, babygirleahrox, AliceJericho, SoliePower, xSamiliciousx, grleviathan, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for their reviews!**_

_**Everyone of you are completely awesome!**_


	37. Truth Is

**_I've been waiting for a long time to write this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_**

* * *

"Is that Adam?" Gran asked Ajay as she squinted into the car.

"Yeah and Aiden." Ajay replied sourly.

Gran was puzzled but decided not to press any further.

Aiden walked up hesitantly, "Hi Gran."

"How are you dear? You look a little down." she hugged her neck gasping at the size of her stomach, "Are you?"

She nodded.

"Both of you come inside, it's too cold out here for all of my babies." Gran chastised leading them into the house.

Everyone inhaled deeply as soon as they stepped in. Gran's house always smelled so good from whatever dish or goody she was preparing. She handed Joey and Kenzie a cookie before they headed to the playroom.

"Aiden honey, how far along are you? You look like you're about to pop." she commented setting down in her chair.

"Five months." she answered uneasily.

She smiled, "Ajay wasn't quite that big with Mackenzie yet."

"I felt like it though." Ajay remembered, "Like a planet with legs actually."

Gran patted her hand, "Has it been easier this time? You haven't been as sick as last time have you?"

"Not really easier, no, but I haven't been as sick this time." Aiden said quietly.

"Well where are Alex and Lexie at?" She questioned.

"Lex stayed at home with Lexie so we could all come up here to see you." Ajay told her.

"Oh." she said suspiciously looking between the two of them, "Is there something else?"

Aiden began wringing her hands almost immediately.

"Hey Gran." Adam greeted giving her a hug, "Something smells good."

"Help yourself." She said.

"Stupid son of a bitch." Ajay muttered after her brother.

"Tell me what is going on Ashton. Why are you mad at Adam?" Edna asked.

"He'll fill you in. It is his story to tell. Just know that he's a dumbass.," she stated with a glare at him.

She left to take the kids outside to play on the swing set. Adam took the vacated seat beside Aiden.

"Spit it out, what happened between you and Ajay?" Edna asked, a hint of a sigh in her voice.

Adam was and seemed like he always would be her problem child.

"We've been butting heads for several months now." he answered vaguely.

"And why is that?" she pondered.

He flexed his jaw and rested his elbows on his knees, "Because I went behind her back and started seeing Aiden."

Gran didn't budge, if she was surprised you would have never known it. She turned her eyes to Aiden in question.

Aiden cleared her throat nervously, "Alex and I were having a lot of problems at the time. We were separated while Adam and I were together."

"You seduced her while she was still married to Alex?" Gran asked looking back at Adam.

"He practically pushed her into my arms. He was physically and emotionally abusive to her and to Lexie. I've always been attracted to Aiden. The chemistry was there, so we went with it." he said defensively.

She nodded seemingly unimpressed with his answer, "You kept this from Ajay and that's why she's mad?"

"Yes." Adam said.

"And no." Aiden finished.

They looked at each other for support; unfortunately, they were in this together.

"Someone better explain this situation right now." she ordered sharply.

Aiden, who was not used to being in trouble, started talking right away, "Ajay found out and was really mad at first, she had every right to be. She eventually came around though before Lexie's birthday party. Alex and I had another huge fight when he found out that I had been seeing Adam, so I decided to get away from all of the stress and go on the road with Lexie. I-I met Addison, and she told me that he was Joey's father and after an incident with her I brought Lexie home because I didn't feel safe and broke things off with Adam."

She fidgeted in her seat.

"So Ajay was eventually okay with your relationship. What else happened because she's obviously not very happy with you son." Edna observed.

Aiden looked over at Adam waiting for him to finish the story. He however seemed to be deep in space, lost in thought, staring a hole in the floor.

"Adam Joseph Copeland, tell me what happened." Gran ordered, her tone hardening.

Aiden chewed on her lip when she saw his eyes begin to tear up.

"I fucked up." he whispered, "No surprise there right?"

"Get to the point." she directed.

"I was pissed that Aiden was seeing other people. I realized I was in love with her too late. It hit me like a ton of bricks that she was the one…the _only_ one I truly wanted to be with. The way I feel about her is deeper, purer than I've ever felt for anyone else." he confessed.

"What did you do?" Gran sighed, "Did you break up her marriage Adam?"

'I tried." he admitted.

"No wonder Ajay is furious with you." Gran groaned, "Did you involve Ajay? Is that why Alex isn't here? What about Lexie, Adam, did you even think about her?"

She waited again for him to answer her questions but he had gone mute again.

"Tell me what you did!" she raised her voice, her patience wearing thin.

He winced in fear and pain, "I switched Aiden's medicine up so she would get pregnant."

Edna recoiled as if he had slapped her.

She was breathing heavily almost as if she couldn't catch her breath at all, "She's…she's…"

"Having my babies." he finished for her.

She stopped breathing altogether then.

"Twins." he confirmed.

She pushed out of her seat to pace the room. She stopped in the far corner after several moments to cry. Quiet sobs hit them like a bus as her shoulders racked with each one.

Adam went to her, touching her shoulder lightly, "Gran, I'm sorry."

She whirled around and smacked him upside the head, "Sorry? That doesn't even begin to cover what you've done. You weren't raised like that! How could you be so careless and devious?"

He swallowed thickly, he had never seen Gran this mad before.

"What you've done is disgusting! Absolutely disgusting and completely devoid of the man that I raised. Do you have any idea what you have done to her? Do you know the hell she went through to have Lexie?" she screamed.

"I didn't know until after." he said.

Edna was shaking her head in utter disbelief, "I don't know you Adam, I don't know you at all. You've never done something this fucking selfish and stupid."

He flexed his jaw tightly in an effort to keep himself under control. Ajay came inside when she heard the yelling. She shoved Adam backwards and pulled Gran into a fierce hug.

"Are you happy no Adam? You've ruined everybody's life. Is that enough for you?" Ajay yelled.

"I need to go lay down Ashton." Gran sputtered.

Ajay led her grandmother away, leaving the pair alone. Aiden was holding herself, tears streaming down her face. He staggered over to her and lay out on the couch putting his head in her lap.

She looked down at him feeling her heart break for him.

Damn her stupid compassion.

She should be just as mad if not more than everyone else at him. She should _hate_ him actually. So why was she cradling his head to her womb? Why was she running her fingers through his hair and tracing the tattoos on his arm? She had to be suffering from some sort of Stockholm syndrome. That was the only explanation she could think of.

He looked so vulnerable and broken with his eyes closed resting on her lap. He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, holding it there for several moments before letting her go again.

They sat like that for a long time before Ajay came back in, "If anything happens to her because of your bullshit Adam, you will beg for death do you hear me?"

She left, going back outside without another word. He squeezed her hand tightly.

* * *

They didn't move for hours. He actually fell asleep for a short time, though it was restless.

When Gran returned to the room, Aiden hastily shook Adam awake. He sat up; rubbing his face wearily, waiting for the bell to signal round two had just begun. Gran shuffled to the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee. She sipped slowly making them wait on edge.

"Are you okay Aiden? Was there anything you needed?" she finally asked.

Aiden shook her head quickly.

"Please don't misunderstand, I'm not upset that you're pregnant, I'm just not thrilled that it happened this way. It's not your fault after all though." she explained with a pointed look at Adam, "Why did you do it? What could have possibly made you think that you should do something like that?"

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "Because of the way I feel about her. The way she makes me feel, like want to be a better person, like there is no one else out there for me but her. When I found out she was seeing other people, I lost it. I couldn't lose her. I just realized that I loved her."

"You did this to her because you _love_ her?" Gran asked skeptically.

"Yes, you don't understand how I feel about her. Even if I couldn't convince her to be with me, I had to have a part of her. I wanted a baby with her…" he trailed off.

"Why? Why was it so important to go to the lengths that you did? Didn't you think that a baby would only complicate matters?" she pressed.

Ajay poked her head in, "Are you okay Gran?"

"Ajay, sit down. I need to tell you this too. Chris needs to be in here too." Adam said staring blankly.

Aiden's eyes widened, she knew already what he was going to tell them.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" she whispered.

"It's the only way for you to understand why I did what I did." he said.

Chris came into the room after getting Kenzie to fall asleep.

"What's this about?" he asked, Ajay who shrugged.

Adam ran his tongue along his teeth; he could feel Ajay's anger projecting at him already.

"I need to get some sleep so say what you need to say." she spat.

"The reason that I switched the pills to get Aiden pregnant was because I love her. She's different from anyone I've ever dated; you know that better than anyone. I chose her to be the mother of my babies because I knew that she could provide them with a good, loving environment. I did it because I knew they wouldn't have to grow up like Joey did. I'm stupid and selfish yeah, but she's the only person I could ever see myself legitimately raising my kids with. With her, I feel that I can be involved in their lives and not be afraid that I made an enormous mistake, by being their father."

"That's how you feel about Joey?" Ajay cried.

"I was terrified when Addison told me she was pregnant. We weren't ready but that's not the reason I abandoned him. I wanted more for him. I wanted to give him the world Ajay. My first child…my son. I wanted him to have everything, but how could I do that when he had me for a father and Addison for a mother?" he dropped his head as the tears began to fall, "I've never felt that I was good enough for him. I could barely take care of myself, how was I supposed to take care of him? And then I saw you."

She looked up at him.

"You were sitting with Addison feeling Joey kick and I could see in your eyes that you already loved him despite all of our imperfections. I knew that you and Chris could provide for him like I never could. You would love him and each other and would be a family together. That's all I ever wanted for him." he said.

Aiden leaned into him for support.

"I always thought that you didn't love him but you did." she sobbed into Chris' shoulder.

"I was afraid that if I stepped in it would push you away even when we found out he was being abused. I was scared that if I came down there that you would want me to be his father and take him and protect him when what he always needed were you and Chris." he told her.

"What about Aiden? Why are you going to be involved with the twins'?" Chris asked.

Adam looked up at her taking her hands in his, "I could always picture us having a family together. She makes me feel comfortable and confidant. I know that she'll be patient while I'm learning with the babies. Most importantly I knew she would love them enough for the both of us."

"I wish you would have just told me all of this instead of letting me hate you." Ajay sniffled.

"Then you would have tried to fix things and make me step up. I know you all too well remember?" he asked cracking a smile, "I had to do this to give Joey the life I envisioned for him no matter what it cost me. I could deal with you hating me if it meant that you were going to love him."

She was shaking her head, "I can't believe you finally told me."

"There's no way you'd give him up now." he laughed.

"No there's definitely no way." she smiled.

"I'm sorry that I hurt everyone. I don't expect you to forgive or forget but just know that I truly am sorry and am going to try to make the best of the situation I created. That's all I can do now." he confessed looking around the room.

Ajay got up to hug her brother, "I still need to work through some of this, but I'm glad that we're trying to work this out now."

"Me too Bug." eh said.

Gran was next in line for a hug, "I'm sorry for smacking you too. I've never been that mad in my life though."

"I deserved it and probably more." he grinned.

Gran sat back down with a smile on her face, "Three new great grand babies, this is wonderful. Aiden do you know what you're having yet?"

"I'm sorry, excuse me." she muttered rushing to the bathroom.

Ajay and Gran were right behind her.

"What happened?" Adam asked frantically looking back at Chris for answers.

"She can't get that worked up remember?" he reminded.

Adam sat down with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm glad that you care for her and all and that you're going to be involved, but I want you to think long and hard about whether or not that's what's best. Maybe you should consider that you being with her isn't going to benefit her. Alex knows how to take care of her, he knows what she needs. You'll just be in the way, hindering the process." Chris said keeping his voice low so the women couldn't hear him.

Adam looked caught off guard, "They're my kids though. I want to be there for them."

"What about her? Are you willing to sacrifice her life because you want to be a good dad? They aren't even here yet Adam. She needs to stay calm and stress free and I don't think you know how to do that." he stated, his blue eyes blazing.

"I would never hurt her intentionally." he said earnestly.

"Think about it, can you handle being able to live with yourself knowing that you're causing her to suffer? This is your fault, this is your doing…remember that." Chris warned going upstairs.

He sat completely still thinking about Chris' ominous warning.

"We went ahead and made her lay down." Gran announced patting Adam's arm.

He nodded and quietly made his way to his old room. His stomach twisted seeing her curled up; her brow covered in perspiration and furrowed in what he could only guess was pain.

Maybe Chris was right.

Maybe being in her life wasn't the best thing for her or their babies.

* * *

**_Well what did you think? Review=shoutout!_**

**_Thanks to SoliePower, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, AliceJericho, and Sarcastic Nightmare for being awesome and reviewing!_**


	38. I've Got A Plan

**_Thanks so much to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, SoliePower, xSamiliciousx, babygirlleahrox, and SarcasticNightmare for reviewing! Ya'll are AWESOME! Hope you like this one!_**

* * *

How had she gotten here? She should be waking up in Alex's arms and pregnant with his children, not Adam's. She had been awake for almost two hours watching him sleep. She had sympathized with him last night but now as she looked at him she was getting mad and irritated all over again. She didn't want to be pregnant again,. Not even with Alex.

She closed here eyes letting the tears fall. She was in a hot mess. She hadn't even told her parents she was expecting again. She felt sure that her father would have Adam buried before sunset when all was revealed. She hated having to hide how scared she was about being pregnant. She wished there was someone to confide in but she knew as soon as she did they would all smother her.

When she re-opened her eyes, Adam was staring at her.

"I'm sorry I make you cry." he said softly.

"It doesn't help that I'm hormonal. One minute I'm happy, the next minute I'm crying." she sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Anything I can do?" he wondered hopefully.

"You've done enough Adam." she spat.

She gingerly pushed off the bed meaning to go downstairs but got lightheaded and was forced to sit back down. When she started crying again, he pulled her into his arms and held her until she cried herself to sleep.

Chris walked by glancing in Adam's room. He gritted his teeth when he saw Aiden in his embrace, Adam's lips pressed to her cheek. So much for taking the advice he'd given him last night. Selfish, ignorant, asshole. Out of anger he skipped breakfast with his family and opted to sulk in the living room. An hour later Adam and Aiden came downstairs.

She stopped and touched his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

He glared after Adam who walked into the kitchen, "Are you?"

"Hormones." She shrugged vaguely.

He rolled his eyes in frustration, "I'm fine. Go eat something."

He crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

She lifted his chin up, "You know you can talk to me Chris."

Before he could answer Adam popped his head in from around the corner, "I fixed you a plate."

She nodded at him.

"Go ahead, I'm okay." Chris muttered nudging her to the kitchen.

She kissed his cheek before joining everyone in the kitchen.

* * *

"Good morning." Aiden smiled as she came in.

"Morning, are you feeling better?" Ajay asked cleaning up after Kenzie and Joey.

"For the most part, I'm more tired than anything." she answered sitting between Adam and Gran.

"Who can blame you? You're a walking contradiction, tiny and huge at the same time." Ajay teased.

"Well it's his fault." Aiden said looking over at Adam.

He kept his head down to avoid anymore confrontation.

Aiden elbowed him slightly, "It was just a joke."

His mouth twitched into a small grin. After breakfast Ajay and Aiden helped clean up, much to Gran's dismay. She didn't want them to overwork themselves.

* * *

Finally when they were done they went to sit in the living room. Chris had taken the kids into the playroom to avoid Adam.

"Aiden dear, you never did tell me if you knew what you were having yet." Edna reminded.

"We're having a boy and a girl. It took several times to see about the girl, her brother is a little bit bigger and is a camera hog." she said.

Gran's eyes shone with the makings of tears, "A boy and a girl."

"Can you see Adam with a daughter? Oh my God! She'll never be allowed to date or wear makeup." Ajay laughed.

"Shut up, I'm not that bad." he defended.

"Do you not remember all of the times you scared off my boyfriends? I empathize with her already." she shook her head in mock concern.

"I'm protective…so what? That's not a crime. There are a lot of assholes out there that weren't good enough for you and that aren't going to be good enough for her either." he explained.

"Meanwhile Adam Junior is running all over the place breaking hears and womanizing everywhere." she smiled continuing to pester her brother.

He shook his head.

"I hope not. That's the last thing I want for him. I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did." he paused and looked at Aiden, "I want him to find a woman that he loves and that he can take care of and that will take care of him and I want him to never let her go and do nothing but make her happy. That's what I wish I would have done."

"Don't make me feel bad." Aiden frowned.

"I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did that's all." he said kissing the back of her hand.

Gran smiled and nodded knowingly. She could see that with Aiden, things were different for him. He was willing to sacrifice to make her happy. She had somehow gotten through his bad boy image to where no one else had before.

"You look like you're ready to be a father this time." Ajay commented pensively.

"What do you mean." he asked looking back at her.

Ajay smiled as he put his arm around Aiden and pulled her back to sit.

"That…what you just did. You never do stuff like. You just seem more caring and aware of the responsibility this time. You had a major lapse of judgment switching those pills around, don't get me wrong. But at the same time you just seem ready to grow up, and be involved."

"It's because of her. She makes me want to do whatever I can to make a really bad mistake on my part better." he admitted.

"You make him so gross and mushy!" Ajay laughed, "Gran did they tell you how Adam told Aiden he loved her? So sappy and unlike him! They went up to the cabin and…"

Chris stood outside of the door way listening to their conversation. He was on the verge of another meltdown. He couldn't believe the way everyone had just forgiven Adam and let him waltz around like he hadn't done anything at all. It was infuriating! They were all making cute over how Adam was going to man up, not realizing that Aiden could pay the ultimate price gain. It was sickening. If you looked at her close enough you could already see the small signs of deterioration in her. And there they were congratulating the bastard. That wasn't going to fly.

* * *

He spent the rest of the day hovering over Aiden and being overly attentive to her to an effort to get Ajay to realize what she was doing was wrong.

He was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling when she came in from putting the kids to bed.

She went to her vanity to take her makeup off, "What's with the attitude Josh?"

"What attitude Ashton?" he retorted.

She turned to face him, "You haven't said hardly two words to anyone other than the kids and Aiden. Did I do something wrong?"

He sat up quickly, "You seem to have fucking forgotten what Adam has done…everything he's done! He's a total jerk off and you and Gran have been patting him on the back all day."

Ajay's jaw dropped. He was mad about that?

"Did you even notice that Aiden looked uncomfortable all day? All of you oohing and ahhing over the babies makes her uncomfortable, you know that! Did any of you ask her if she was feeling alright? No, you didn't. You were too busy kissing Adam's ass."

"Will you calm the fuck down for a minute?" Ajay hissed.

She was getting mad at his accusations, "Aiden was fine. I know what to look for when she doesn't feel good. And as far as Adam goes, I'm sorry but I'm really proud of the way he's stepping up and doing the right thing for once. I'm proud of him" she frowned.

Chris sat up, with a skeptical look on his face, "Are you high? You're _proud _of him? What the fuck Ajay! He forced Aiden into a life threatening situation…you're _proud_ of him? Are you going to pat him on the back after he kills her?"

Ajay rolled her eyes and scoffed, "This is a totally different situation. You're blowing this way out of proportion as usual when it comes to her. She and the doctor's are prepared this time. Everyone is being cautions, so will you stop being a dick head about it? I'm pregnant too ,remember, with your kid? I wish you were that protective over me and your unborn child."

Chris pulled on his jeans leaving them unbuttoned on his hips.

"Fucking bullshit." he muttered walking out of the room.

"I agree." Ajay called turning back to the mirror.

Chris stormed downstairs and tugged his jacket on before stepping onto the porch. He heaved out a frustrated sigh watching it manifest and float away. He could see Ajay's point about him being overly protective of their friend, but losing her again was not an option, especially due to Adam's stupidity.

_Fuck that._

Adam doesn't have a clue how to properly take care of Aiden during her pregnancy. _He could learn_…yeah and be in the way the whole time and by then it could be too late. The signs were subtle at times, a mistake, innocent or not, on his part could be fatal. No one in their right mind would take that risk. Adam just needed to be out of the picture. He was a nuisance. A big fucking disaster waiting to happen and Aiden was in the cross hairs.

If only he would stop caring and say out of the way like he did with Joey. That would be perfect. His eyes lit up when the idea came to him. He patted his pockets for his phone. He pulled it out and called Alex.

"Hello?" Alex answered.

"What's wrong with you?" Chris questioned.

"Your wife is with her ex slash baby daddy, and hasn't called, how would you feel?" he asked grumpily.

"Good point. I've got a solution though if you're interested." Chris grinned, lowering his voice and checking over his shoulder.

"I'm all ears." Alex said.

* * *

**_Review please!_**

**_Also sorry for any typos...I was typing and watching the Super Bowl :)_**

**_xoxo_**


	39. Accidents Happen

The next morning Chris endured everyone still making a fuss over Adam because he had gotten up early to start breakfast. He focused on Ajay and his kids, constantly reminding himself that he had a solution for the problem. As he fed Kenzie, he noticed that Aiden was even being more affectionate towards him. She rested her hand on his thigh, allowed him to kiss her cheek and play with her hair.

"I hate that all of you have to leave today." Gran said with a smile.

Ajay put her hand out to her, "We do too. The only time we eat this good is when Aiden cooks for us."

"And she can barely get to the stove because of the babies." Adam joked putting a hand on her stomach.

Aiden suddenly sat up with a gasp, "Did you feel that?"

Adam dropped his silverware and put both hands on her womb. His eyes were wide, almost panicked as he waited for another gentle nudge.

"Wow." was all he could manage when he felt one of the babies move again.

Gran put a hand on his shoulder, "Amazing isn't it?"

"They're really moving in there." he commented, "Does it hurt at all?"

She tilted her head, "It's uncomfortable, especially when they both start up, but it's not bad."

"Ajay, Gran, feel this." he said.

Aiden blushed furiously as they put their hands on her stomach. Chris clenched his jaw with frustration.

Gran bent and kissed the top of Aiden's head, "They're so lucky to have you Aiden."

Ajay put her arms around Adam's neck, "Feeling them like that makes them real doesn't it?"

He nodded, "That's really cool to feel them. I never took the time to do that with Addison."

"Joey, come on and help me and Kenzie pack up. We need to start heading back." Chris said carrying his daughter out of the kitchen.

"What's his problem?" Gran asked.

"He's all grumpy because Adam is trying to be a good dad this time."

"You'd think he would be happy about that." Adam griped.

"You know how he is about Aiden though. He thinks you're going to kill her." Ajay told them with a flippant scoff.

Adam's whole stature drooped at her sudden confession. Unfortunately, for all of them it was a very real possibility.

"I'm just going to go and clean up the room, if you'll excuse me." Aiden ducked out quietly.

Ajay took Aiden's seat with a huff, "Its Chris' dumb idea. He's being overly sensitive for some reason."

"Shouldn't he be worrying about you and your baby?" Gran asked gathering up the dishes.

"I know right? I pointed that out last night." she threw her hands up.

She grabbed Adam's chin and gently shook his head, "Don't worry Ads, she'll be fine."

He bit his lip, "He's right though, anything could happen and Aiden could take a turn for the worse…"

Gran covered his mouth, "Put it out of your head son. Nothing is going to happen to her or the babies. How could it? She's got all of you watching after her and taking very good care of her."

"We're not ever going to go through that again, I promise." Ajay smiled.

"And make sure you look after her too, since someone _is a little too caught up in other people's business._" Gran called loud enough for Chris to hear when he was taking the suitcases outside.

* * *

They said their goodbyes to Gran and got on the road. Aiden sat in the back with Adam much to Chris' chagrin. He kept eyeing them in the back. Aiden was leaned against him as they talked about the babies.

Alex was waiting for them when they pulled up.

"How was your trip?" he asked quietly when they got inside.

She kissed him, throwing her arms around his neck, "I missed you."

"You didn't call." he mentioned, looking into her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Everything was kind of intense." she frowned.

"Its okay babe. I missed you too." he assured seeing Adam come into the house.

"I was wondering if we could talk about some things." Adam asked, stopping a few feet away from the couple.

Alex kept his arm around Aiden and a glare on his face.

"We had a great time up at Gran's and got a lot of issues cleared up I think." he began.

"_I'm thrilled._" Alex said sarcastically.

"I realized that she and the twins are what's important. Nothing else matters and I'm going to do everything to prevent what happened with Lexie. I think that we should let bygones be bygones and drop the feud we've got going on for their well-being. So what do you say? Do we have a truce?" he asked extending his hand out to the younger man.

"Off." Alex stated the muscles in his jaw flexing.

"What?"

"Off. That's the general direction I'd like you to fuck." he clarified.

"Alex…"Aiden protested.

"No." he growled pushing her behind him to get in Adam's face, "You can go on whatever little trip you want and peddle out this bullshit to whoever will listen, but I'm not buying it. You're delusional if you think I'm going to shake your hand and make nice after everything you've done. Go fuck yourself dickbag."

Adam chuckled, surprisingly keeping himself in check, "So you won't do this for her?"

"I would if it was in fact about her, but its not. You're trying to sweep what you did under the rug and I'm not going to let you. So again, take your offer and shove it up your ass."

He grabbed Aiden's luggage and took it upstairs to unpack for her. She squeezed Adam's had as she followed her husband upstairs. Chris wiped the smirk off his face as Aiden passed.

"At least you can say you tried." Ajay sympathized patting her brother on the back.

She went upstairs a few minutes later when she heard Alex and Aiden's raised voices.

Chris shook his head at Adam, "Just can't take no for an answer huh?"

"Shut up Sabin. I'm sick of you and him trying to tell me that I'm not good enough to be there for her."

He snickered, "I'm going to enjoy telling you I told you so. Hopefully Aiden and the babies will be alright when I do."

"Shut the fuck up." he said gritting his teeth.

He shrugged before going to check on the kids.

Adam clenched his fist in frustration, "I'm not going to let anything happen to them."

Alex and Ajay came back downstairs a little while later, Alex was obviously still mad as he rolled his eyes at Adam.

"Will you stay with Aiden for a few days while we go down to Orlando?" he grated out.

"Sure, I'd love to." he said enthusiastically.

Alex nodded sarcastically and left the room.

Ajay smiled at her brother, "This is a big opportunity, don't blow it okay?"

He heaved out a frustrated sigh.

"Prove _them_ wrong _I_ believe you." she assured.

Alex came back in the room with Lexie, "You can stay in the guest room while I'm gone. At no time are you allowed in our bedroom, do you understand?"

Adam nodded tightly. He would love to fuck Aiden in the bed that she shared with that asshole. He would _revel _in it actually.

"I'll see in the morning." he said to Ajay.

"Come walk us out big brother, and please be on your best behavior okay? She smiled.

"Yes mom." he grinned sarcastically.

After they left he got his suitcase and settled into the guestroom. He inhaled deeply after crawling between the sheets. It smelled like Aiden all around him. He smiled thinking of the weekend. It had been a stressful one of the most part but getting to wake up beside her and being able to hold her was great. He missed their early morning talks. He missed her in general really. At least he would get to spend a few more days alone with her.

Maybe they could even start on the nursery…a faint sound creeping down the hallway interrupted his thoughts.

What was that? He listened carefully before dismissing it as Lexie. Her room was right across…no, there it was again. A little louder this time. He sat up in bed straining his ears. His stomach dropped when he finally made out the sounds.

They were having sex just down the hall…Alex being loud enough for him to hear.

That _asshole._

Adam fell back on the bed and covered his face wondering if he should just go ahead and knock himself unconscious instead of having to endure the torture.

* * *

The next morning Adam trudged downstairs wearily. He had been kept up all night by Alex and Aiden going at it.

"Sleep well?" Alex asked smartly.

He ignored the douche bag and took the plate Aiden had made him.

"I'm going to go make sure I didn't forget anything for Lexie." Aiden announced turning off the stove.

"I smell breakfast!" Chris called coming into the kitchen.

"What's wrong with you?' Ajay questioned sitting at the bar with her brother.

"I didn't sleep well." he admitted.

"Why not? You usually sleep like a log." she teased.

His brow furrowed, "Is it…you know…_safe_ for Aiden to be having sex?"

Her eyes went wide, "Tell me you didn't sleep with her again! Please tell me you're not planning on sleeping with her while we're gone."

"No, I didn't sleep with her stupid." he hissed, cringing when he saw Chris' smirk.

Comprehension dawned on her, "Ohhh….no wonder you didn't sleep very well. Yeah, don't worry about it. As long as she's comfortable with it."

"But it won't effect the twins right?" he worried.

She shook her head, "No. I mean she had sex when she was pregnant with Lexie. I don't think you have to worry about it."

"Don't tell her I asked about it okay?" he whispered.

Ajay made a lock and key with her mouth.

**

* * *

**

TWO DAYS LATER

* * *

The time spent alone with Aiden was priceless to Adam. They had such a good time lounging around the house, walking around the mall, and cooking together. The time had been flawless, but his luck began to go downhill abruptly the day Alex was set to return.

He was carrying several boxes full of baby clothes and accessories and tripped sending one of the heavier boxes toppling onto Aiden's ankle. She twisted it as she tried to catch her balance to keep from falling. The already swollen ankle ballooned to twice its size.

They were sitting on the couch, Adam holding an ice pack on her ankle.

"Aiden, I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean to." he repeated.

"I know you didn't." she sniffed, wiping her eyes.

He moved the ice pack to see that her skin was already turning black and blue.

"Fuck, are you _sure_ you don't want me to take you to the hospital?" he asked replacing the ice pack.

"It's just sprained, there's nothing they can do." she winced.

"Mommy!" Lexie squealed running through the house, "Where are you Mommy?"

"Shit." he muttered.

Lexie stopped at the couch taking in the scene before her.

"Hey baby, I missed you." Aiden smiled through her tears.

"DADDY! Mommy has a boo boo!"

Alex came rushing into the room, dropping the luggage he was carrying.

"What the hell happened?" he yelled.

"Please calm down, it was an accident." Aiden cried.

"I was carrying in some stuff we bought and one of the boxes fell on her ankle. I didn't know she was right there." Adam explained.

"Cookie! Are you okay?" Ajay exclaimed rushing to her friend's side.

She slapped her brother on the arm, "_What did you do to her?"_

"We need to talk right now!" Alex ordered, "Get away from her and lets go outside."

"Alex, please don't do that. It really was an accident." Aiden whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

"Let me handle this Ai." he shouted.

Adam carefully rested her ankle on a pillow so he could get up. Ajay took over holding the ice pack.

"Chris, will you please go out there with them?" Aiden begged.

She could tell he was just as furious as Alex was, but he could at least keep a cooler head. He followed them to the back porch as she asked. The kids had gathered all of their 'doctor' toys to make sure Aiden and the baby were okay. Meanwhile, Alex and Chris were both ripping Adam a new one outside.

"You were supposed to keep her company and watch after her, not break her fucking ankle you moron." Alex shouted.

He was barely in control of his temper.

Adam ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "It was a freak accident. Nothing you can do or say will make me feel any worse than I already do."

"You wanna bet? How bout I break _your_ leg?" Alex threatened the veins in his neck protruding.

"You just don't think Adam. What part of 'careful' do you not understand?" Chris chimed in.

"I got it alright? I fucked up. It was a complete mistake on my part and I feel terrible." Adam raised his voice, "Can we stop yelling at me now and make sure Aiden is okay?"

Alex kicked the patio furniture, flipping the table over. He threw one of Lexie's toys across the yard with a frustrated yell to expel some of his anger.

"Watch yourself Copeland." he seethed.

**

* * *

**

FOUR WEEKS LATER

* * *

"Good God you make me tired just looking at you." Ajay groaned seeing Aiden flitting around the kitchen.

"It's not that bad, at least not today." she smiled.

"Chris is in the backyard with Alex and Adam, Jay, and Gran should be here soon." Ajay relayed as she poured herself a drink.

"I'm glad we could all get together for a little cookout. Lexie was so excited to wear her new dress." Aiden laughed going to the refrigerator to get the vegetables to chop.

"Shocker, she's your mini me after all." Ajay laughed, "I'm going to check on the kids…and Joey and Kenzie."

Aiden smiled as she started dicing up the vegetables.

"I'll take this stuff inside, you help Gran." Adam instructed when they pulled up to the house.

He grabbed the drinks they brought and hurried up the stairs of the porch. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen Aiden. To say he was anxious was an understatement.

He let himself in, groaning when he heard Alex and Chris' band's music coming from the kitchen. He tiptoed to the kitchen a sly smiled crossing his features. He sat the bags down inching closer to Aiden who had yet to notice him. He jumped and grabbed her sides yelling at the same time to scare her. She screamed like he thought she would.

"Ha, ha, I got you! You should know by now that as a part of our family….oh shit!" he exclaimed.

He had leaned around her to see the shocked expression on her face, but what he saw stopped the breath in his chest. Aiden's hand was shaking and gushing blood from the gash in her palm. Tears flooded her eyes as quickly as the color drained from her face. Her mouth was opening and closing but no sound was formed. The knife clattered on the counter as more blood coursed from the wound.

"Hey babe, are you done with the kabobs? The grill is ready." Chris called turning the corner, "Aiden!"

He rushed to her and caught her just as her eyes rolled back and she fainted. She had always had a weak stomach when it came to blood.

"_Do_ something you idiot! Hand me that towel!" Chris yelled.

Adam tossed it to him, still shocked at what he had caused.

"She's got to have stitches, go get Alex, stop standing there like a retard!" Chris ordered.

Adam stumbled to the back deck.

"Great…you're here." Alex sighed, when Adam came outside.

"Aiden needs to go to the hospital." he stammered.

Alex shouldered past him followed by Ajay. Jay was already helping Chris get Aiden to the car. Gran had gone outside to keep the children from noticing anything. By the time they got to the emergency room, Ajay was in near hysterics because Aiden hadn't woken up from her black out yet. They all sat in the waiting room in a shocked silence. Finally, Chris, Aiden and Alex came from the recovery room.

"Oh Cookie are you alright?" Ajay cried giving her a big hug.

"Twenty-one stitches and I'm as good as new." Aiden smiled weakly, "Don't ask me to tell you anything else or I might pass out again."

Ajay shook her head, holding Aiden's arm as they walked into the parking garage, "How did it happen."

"Adam snuck up behind me and scared me. He didn't know I had a knife in my hand. It was just another accident." she explained.

"I know he feels terrible. He just sat there with his head in his hands the entire time." Ajay sympathized.

"Where are they anyways?" Aiden wondered noticing that they were alone in the parking garage.

"They were right behind us." Ajay frowned guiding her back around the corner.

They both froze seeing all four men engaged in a heated brawl. Adam and Jay had paired off and were fighting tooth and nail against Alex and Chris who were in the process of being pulled apart by the hospital security guards. It took several minutes to separate them, neither side wanting to give up. They were escorted to their cars and off the premises. Alex, Aiden, and Chris rode home together in silence while the three siblings squabbled the whole way there.

Gran was rocking in the recliner trying to get Lexie to go to sleep.

"What in the world happened to all of you?" she asked looking between the battered men.

They all pointed at each other, casting the blame on the opposite side.

"Take a seat. We'll get to the bottom of it then." She announced sternly.

"Ajay, take her upstairs will you dear?" she smiled warmly at her granddaughter.

"Sure, come on baby Lex." Ajay coaxed.

Gran looked at Aiden then, taking her heavily bandaged hand in hers, "Is your hand going to be okay?"

She nodded, "Just needed stitches."

"Keep it elevated so it won't throb okay dear?" she instructed.

"I will." she said quietly.

"Go on upstairs and get some rest." Gran told her.

She turned back to the four men on the couch who still looked ready to fight in a moments notice.

She sat back down, "Now, we're going to get to the bottom of this even if it takes all night. All of this bickering and coming to blows ends now. Do I make myself clear?"

The silence was stifling. That is until the two hot heads spoke up.

Alex shook his head, "I can't accept that."

"I'm not making any promises either." Adam shrugged crossing his arms.

"You're not doing this for either one of you; you're doing it for all of them upstairs. So lets get started." Gran said making her point clear.

They all sighed. This was going to be a long damn discussion.

* * *

**_And dare I say intense? Review if you want another long chapter! More drama to come lovelies._**

**_xoxo_**


	40. Lead The Way

**_Sorry for the incredibly long wait for this next chapter :( I just couldn't get the feel of it, but lucky for you my awesome new beta A Midnight Vixen helped me work out the kinks._**

**_Hope you like it!_**

* * *

"Where would you like to start?' Edna asked glaring pointedly at Adam and Alex in particular.

"Alex jumped on Adam first tonight. When Chris joined in, so did I." Jay admitted.

"Is that true?" her gaze shifted to Chris who nodded, "What started the fight Alex?"

He rolled his eyes, "What started this whole thing in motion? Adam. On top of everything else, _everything he's done_, he's completely endangering Aiden by his carelessness. She was stressed almost to the breaking point tonight and what if Chris hadn't been there to catch her before she passed out? What then? It only takes one little mistake, and you could lose the twins, and I could lose my wife. One mistake and he doesn't give a shit about it. He's an accident waiting to happen."

"I do care! I hate myself for what happened tonight but I didn't do it on purpose. I was excited to see her and wanted to surprise her that's all. What's wrong with that?" Adam retorted.

Alex tapped his finger on his chin sarcastically, "Other than having to rush her to the emergency room? Nothing I guess, maybe I shouldn't be all mad and upset that you're trying to kill my wife. No big deal right?"

"Take that back!" Adam warned.

"Fuck off! Seriously Adam, crawl back into whatever hole you slithered out of and go die." Alex spat.

"That's enough Alex." Gran pointed her finger at him.

Adam laughed, "You would love that wouldn't you? I bet every time you see Aiden and I together you can't help but picture us making love."

He smirked seeing that his comment had hit a nerve.

"Adam Joseph Copeland!" Gran said shocked at his proclamation.

"All the times I comforted her while you were out being a jackass must really eat at you, huh?" Adam continued smugly.

"Shut up." Alex grated out.

Adam snorted, "All the times she came onto me and begged me to give it to her to forget you existed, all the times she said she loved me. How even after everything I've done, she wants me to be a part of her life. It must kill you to know that she can't let me go."

Alex's jaw was so tense it looked like it would snap out of socket. His white knuckled grip on the chair railings were the only thing anchoring him. He knew that to stay in good graces with Aiden he had to keep his cool and take the higher road…even though he fucking _hated_ to do it.

Adam loved dangling his relationship with Aiden in Alex's face. He loved making that annoying bastard realize that he ranked right up there beside him in Aiden's life.

Adam sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, "Go ahead and admit it, she would have a much better life with me than with you. She's well taken care of in every aspect, trust me."

To everyone's surprise, before Alex could even get to his feet, Chris had sprung across the living room and was all over Adam. Jay and Alex joined in as well and the fight had begun again. Edna watched on in helpless fury waiting for the first opportunity to try and break them apart. Finally she was able to get between Alex and Adam and shoved them in opposite directions of each other.

"ENOUGH!" she shouted.

All for men were heaving for air.

"See what I mean? Aiden doesn't need to be around this!" Adam yelled.

"Shut up! All of you shut up, not another word and I mean it." Gran bellowed.

None of them dared to disobey her when she used that tone of voice.

"This is beyond ridiculous. All of you are. Each of you are making this difficult situation worse than it already is, and that's going to end tonight." she finalized.

She looked over at Jay, "You have no part in this whatsoever other than defending your brother. Stay out of it; you don't need to add to the problem. Chris, you need to mind your own business too."

"Aiden is my best friend and so is Alex!" he said defensively.

"And Ashton is your wife! How do you think she feels seeing you getting into fights with her brother over Aiden?" She pointed out.

Chris slumped his shoulders slightly.

"You've already dealt with her insecurities once; do you really want to do it a second time?"

He shook his head.

"She's pregnant too, Chris, and she needs you. Stay out of this, it doesn't involve you. You can be Aiden's friend, she doesn't need a protector. Take care of your wife and take care of my grandbabies. That should keep you busy enough to not involve yourself in this situation any more." she said.

Chris nodded dejectedly. He wasn't entirely sure that he could turn the "Aiden Switch" off. He had protected her and defended her for so long it had become second nature.

"I mean it Joshua. Focus on Ajay and your family. Leave Aiden alone." Gran reiterated seeing the confusion in his eyes.

She looked next at Alex, "And you…what the hell were you thinking starting a fight with him knowing how badly it upsets Aiden?"

"I don't want to hear it, I really fucking don't." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Watch your mouth smartass. Don't talk to her that way." Adam bristle.

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "Or what? You gonna come over here and get your ass kicked again?"

Jay jumped in front of his brother who lunged at the younger man.

"Sit down Adam! I can handle this myself." Gran ordered, "Listen to me, all four of you, especially you two. We can come to some sort of agreement tonight or I'll take her back to Canada with me until she's had the babies, don't think I won't. I will not let your stupid egos harm my great grand babies or their mother."

"Well you can thank your precious grandson for all of this shit. He's the malicious prick that caused this." Alex fumed.

"He's absolutely guilty, I can't argue with you there, but so are you Alex." she said.

"Me!" he yelled.

"Yes you! Had you been a good husband in the first place she wouldn't have turned to another man. She wouldn't have had a reason to. You're the deadbeat father that left your wife and daughter to go and party with who knows what kind of disgraceful whores. Who wouldn't pick up your pieces Alex? You had it all and gave it up to be a dumbass for a few months. Instead of pointing fingers why don't you take a look in the mirror?" she yelled back.

Adam snickered at the ass chewing Gran gave his enemy. When she whipped around and unleashed her death glare on him, he wished he hadn't.

"You think this is funny?" she asked, her voice low all of a sudden.

He didn't dare move a muscle to respond.

"You think it's funny that you seduced a married woman?" she asked.

"She made the first move, she came onto me." he threw his hands up.

He'd done some wrong shit, but if he was going to be accused of something at least let it be for something he'd actually done.

"And that made it okay? You didn't think to stop the affair? After everything with Amy you wanted to go down that road again?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He ran a hand through his tousled hair, "I tried. I stopped her before we even did anything. I didn't want this for her."

"Oh _bullshit_!" Chris argued, uncontrollably.

"Josh!" Gran snapped.

"You really believe that he tried to stop her? He probably encouraged her!" Chris yelled.

"You don't know _shit_ about our relationship, asshole. From the way you're acting, it seems like you want to hook up with her too." Adam scoffed.

"That's too far bro." Jay admonished.

"How? Look at the way he acts!" he shot back, "Gran is right, you need to worry about Ajay and stay out of Aiden's business."

"You're not going to sit there and lie about Aiden when she can't defend herself. I saw the way you were with her and you were all too happy to have her to yourself. That's plain to see from everything that you've done and are trying to do." Chris defended.

Adam laughed then, "No wonder Ajay flipped out on your ass, she had every right to."

Chris was about to open his mouth to argue back but stopped when he saw Aiden standing at the bottom of the stairs. Alex went to her immediately and walked her to the couch.

"Chris, Jay, why don't the two of you go and check on Ashton?" Gran suggested.

They both left reluctantly as Aiden sat down beside Alex.

Adam knelt in front of her, "Are you okay babe? You know how sorry I am right?"

Alex stiff armed him backwards, "Back off!"

Adam got to his feet and towered over them, "I'm about sick of your shit! You're not going to stop me from being there for her."

"You're going to do this now? With her sitting right here?" Alex asked shaking his head.

Adam looked down at Aiden holding her bandaged hand with tears in her eyes.

"I can't do this anymore." she whispered, "I can't be around either of you if all you're going to do is fight with each other."

She wiped her tears on the tissue she was holding.

"I was so scared tonight when I had to do another breathing treatment while they stitched my hand up. I'm scared about all of this and all either of you are worried about is who gets in the last word." she cried.

Alex kissed her temple lightly, "That's not true. You know how afraid I am about you being pregnant again. You can't handle his shit on top of that."

"Will you please explain to him that those are my kids and that he's not going to get rid of me because he doesn't like the situation? That's what he's really mad about, he can't stand the fact that I can replace him at any fucking second. That's what you're really afraid of." Adam smirked.

"Adam, you know how I feel about him. I do want you to be involved during my pregnancy but I just can't take all of this drama." she whimpered into her hands.

He threw his hand up in the air, "What the fuck am I supposed to do? He's out of control! You should have just taken my offer and stayed with me until you had the babies. It still stands you know…I can take care of you and Lexie."

"What she should have done is gone through with the abortion." Alex seethed.

All eyes were on him as the tension escalated even higher. It was like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. Aiden's lip trembled as her eyes filled with more tears. Adam's hands curled into impossibly tight fists.

"I can't believe you just said that Alex." Gran whispered, tears in her own eyes.

"I can't help how I feel." he said glaring at his nemesis.

Adam bent and kissed Aiden's cheek, "If I stay, I'll kill him. I'll call you tomorrow."

He turned and grabbed his jacket off the couch and slammed the door behind him.

Gran took Aiden's hand, "Let's get you in bed dear. You look exhausted."

Alex sat stoically. He shouldn't have said what he did, he knew that. He just couldn't help that he was selfish when it came to Aiden and his life with her. They already _had_ a daughter together. He and Lexie needed her more than Adam and his stupid plot. He would explain his position to her and make things right but at the moment he was still too furious to do anything. There was no way he was going to let Adam get away with what he'd done.

There were going to be consequences. He just had to figure out how to shield Aiden in the process.

* * *

Adam had only been at the bar for thirty minutes but was already wasted. The bartender had remembered him as being a generous tipper and was helping Adam with his cause. He sat in his secluded corner brooding and throwing back shots, chasing them with beer. He felt a light tap on his shoulder and smiled to himself. He was in the mood to release some aggression. It was too bad for the guy behind him.

He turned on his stool getting ready to blast the guy but stopped seeing Mollie's mischievous smirk.

"You're lookin mighty dangerous down here." she grinned.

"I'm not in the mood for any games alright? Run along back to your side of the bar and leave me alone." he growled thoroughly disappointed he didn't get to deck anybody.

Her smirk grew wider as she stepped further between his legs, "Why don't we grab a drink in my room across the street? Or are you not in the mood for that either?"

He eyed her warily, wondering if this was such a good idea or not. She was clearly as intoxicated as he was. Red flags were waving everywhere.

She ran her fingers in his hair, "Aww, c'mon, you can pretend I'm Aiden while I pretend you're Alex."

He snorted at the comment as he leaned forward to test the waters. He pressed his mouth to hers, watching her every move. Her tongue snaked out to brush his gently as she bit his bottom lip seductively.

"Lead the way." he whispered.

* * *

_**DAYYUM! Sleeping with the enemy! **_

_**Please review lovelies!**_

_***Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, Alice Jericho, Babygirlleahrox, fairytink101, and betterthanyou47 for all of their reviews!***_


	41. Trust Me

Adam rolled over gasping to catch his breath. Mollie's soft moans and haggard breathing accompanied his. The guilt of what he'd just done was already nagging him. How could it not? He'd been picturing Aiden the entire time. Not to say that Mollie wasn't beautiful, she was gorgeous with the attitude to match, but he was still hung up on Aiden and how he wanted to be with her permanently. Mollie got out of bed and sauntered to the bathroom with a coy wink over her shoulder.

He waited until she came back to go to the bathroom to clean himself off and clear his head. He stared in the mirror long and hard. His mind's eye conjured up an image of Aiden, pregnant with his two children, a look of sadness on her face. They weren't together, she'd made that choice already, but it still felt wrong to him. Mollie was her worst enemy. There was no love lost between them at all…and he'd just shared a bed with her. He didn't know where this was going to go with Mollie, but he was certain that when Aiden found out about it, shit was going to hit the fan. He flicked off the light, the image of his former lover fading into the darkness, and returned back to the sat down and picked his boxers off of the floor.

Mollie leaned over him, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Leaving so soon?"

"I thought we were done." he murmured.

She pulled him to lay back down and snuggled into his side, "Why were you so mad earlier?"

"I'll give you one guess." he grumbled.

She smirked, "It wouldn't be Alex would it?"

"Bingo." he replied sarcastically.

"Did he forbid you from ever seeing precious princess Aiden again?" She said in an equally sarcastic tone.

He glared at her, "Don't do that, this had nothing to do with her for once. It was all him and his egocentric approach to everything."

"What happened this time." she groaned.

"He started another fight and then said, right in front of Aiden too, that he wished she would have just gotten the abortion."

Mollie's face deadpanned, "He must have been really mad."

"Who gives a shit about him? He admitted that he hoped she would have gotten rid of my kids." Adam sat back up, leaving Mollie on the pillow, "If you're going to side with him…"

"I'm not. I was just surprised that he came out and said that. He normally would never dare to upset her." she interrupted quietly.

He was angrily pulling on his clothes, "What were you there for?"

Tears frustratingly filled her eyes, "It would have been mine and Alex's anniversary."

His hands stilled immediately, "Why do you do that to yourself Mollie?"

"Why do _you_?" She shot back.

She always got defensive when she was mad…very much like him.

He shook his head, "You could do so much better than him."

She sniffled and glared up at him, "You could do much better than her too."

He sighed softly; they could go back and forth all night over this.

"I don't care if you think I'm stupid." She muttered, "What we had could have been forever."

"Then why is he with Aiden?" he asked.

Tears stung her eyes, "Because I'm a huge bitch all the time and she's not. I have opinions and thoughts and take sides on matters. I like to be heard and seen….I'm just not her."

She gave up and put her hands over her face.

He sat beside her and pulled her to his chest, "This is why I hate him. He should never make you feel this way. You should never doubt yourself. You're a beautiful, intelligent, honest, independent woman, I see nothing wrong with who you are. I don't get how after all of the times he hurt you, you can still want to be with him."

"Guess its true you always want what you can't have." she cried.

"Guess so." he agreed.

"Well why are you so hung up on Aiden when she obviously doesn't want you?" she questioned.

"What we had could have been forever too. I hate that he gets away with treating her like shit when they were apart and then all of a sudden makes amends with her again. Its bullshit."

"You know, we could work together to get what we want." she said after awhile.

He chuckled, "That's tempting, but I can't do that. I think we're both better than that."

"I wasn't being serious." she rolled her eyes.

"I was hoping you were going to say that." he grinned, "On the bright side, we can always be miserable together."

Her lips went to his neck, "I kind of like being miserable with you."

Adam slowly maneuvered her underneath him with a devilish grin on his face, "So do I."

* * *

Alex came downstairs after waking up alone the morning after the argument. Aiden had calmly gone upstairs after his proclamation the night before and went to bed. He didn't get the chance to clarify himself to her at all.

She was in the kitchen as usually, already dressed to the nine in a dress that would get her into the finest of restaurants or country club. Lexie scrunched her nose at her father as he sat down beside her. He kissed her cheek as Aiden placed a hot plate of food in front of him. She gathered up Lexie's plate and cup silently. Alex picked up his fork in despair and dropped it in the same instance. He stopped Aiden from hand washing the dishes and pulled her to him tightly.

He kissed her softly, "I'm so stupid Aiden. I was mad and said what I did out of anger. Please forgive me."

"Alex, you did mean it, don't lie to me on top of it." she sighed.

He pulled away to look in her eyes, "It came out wrong. I wanted to piss Adam off and that was right on the tip of my tongue and I said it before I could even think.

"I understand. I mean, if I wasn't pregnant we wouldn't be dealing with this." she said dropping her eyes.

"I love you Aiden, and I'm going to love those babies too." he assured her gently pulling her back to him.

The doorbell rang shrilly, breaking up the tender moment.

"Who could that be this early?" Aiden asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"I can tell you who I hope its not." he grinned sardonically.

She shook her head as she went to the door.

"Hey, what are ya'll doing here so early?" Aiden greeted Chris and Ajay.

Chris shrugged.

Ajay looked frazzled, "I really need to talk to you and Alex. It's been…really bothering me and I just need to get it off my chest."

Aiden's brow furrowed, "Okay, come in. Are you hungry? I can make some more…"

"We already ate." Ajay snapped, sitting on the couch in a huff.

"Okay." Aiden said quietly, hurt by her friends tone.

Alex came into the living room with Lexie in his arms, "Why don't you go play with Joey and Kenz baby? Mommy and I will watch that movie with you later."

He kissed her cheek and smiled as she skipped off, "So what's up?"

"Ajay insisted we come over here, she said she wanted to discuss something." Chris informed blandly.

Ajay was fidgeting on the couch looking determined and nervous at the same time.

"I just couldn't stand it anymore. Last night set me off…and I don't want to go back to that…I can't. It's all too much for me." she rambled.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

She took a deep breath as tears welled up in her eyes, "I don't want to ever hurt you like I did last time Aiden. I'm sorry for snapping at you a few minutes ago too. That's the reason I wanted to bring this out in the open before I let it get too far."

She turned to Chris, "I thought I had a pretty good understanding of your relationship with her, but ever since we found out all of this drama, it's changed. You're trying to be her Superman and I'm getting left in the shadows and I can't take it. It was obvious enough for Adam to see, okay? He _never_ notices _anything_. That's a big deal to me."

"Ajay, you know you have nothing to worry about. I will never ever do anything to jeopardize my marriage to you or my friendship with her or Alex." Chris said shocked at her confession.

She slapped her palms on her knees in frustration, "I _know that_, but the way you've been acting has made me feel a lot less than loved. I'm pregnant too! Do you know what I would do to get the attention and respect she does from you?"

Chris sighed deeply.

"I couldn't live with myself if I repeated that horrible mistake I made. I knew I couldn't keep this inside any longer either though. The last thing I want to do is stress you out more with my issues Aiden, but I had to tell you." she cried.

"It's okay Ajay." Aiden smiled sadly.

She hated the fact that she was the reason her best friend was insecure in her relationship with her husband.

"No it's not actually." Alex finally spoke up, "I appreciate your honesty but I'm telling you right now, I will NOT allow that to happen again. She and the babies' safety are what is important, not the stability you may or may not have with Chris."

Ajay nodded, "I know that…I didn't want it to be like before."

"Its _never_ going to be like before. That will never happen again. Seriously Ajay? You're going to bring this up now? You're getting all insecure now, when we're trying to deal with your fuck tard brother? Get your shit together, both of you, because I'm not going to allow Aiden to deal with it." he replied.

"Alex, don't be like that! She's trying to work this out now, that's why she came to us." Aiden admonished.

"I stayed up thinking about everything last night. It kept eating at me and I couldn't keep it to myself." Ajay frowned, "I know none of this is your fault Aiden, I do. I can't help the way I feel though. I want Chris to treat me the way he does you, and when I think about it too much it stirs up so much resentment for you…and I'm sorry."

They could see it killed her to admit that out loud. Chris felt like shit and rightfully so. He got so caught up in protecting Aiden, and the crippling fear of losing her again, that he had lost sight of what was most important.

"I'm scared of losing her again. I'm not using that as an excuse, there are none for the way I've let you down." Chris admitted quietly, "Those moments we thought you had died were the worst of my life. I've never experienced anything like that before and the possibility of having to again causes a knee jerk reaction out of me."

He took Ajay's hands in his, "You'll never know how sorry I am for making you feel insecure. You are the most important person in my life, and I promise I'll make sure that you know that from now on."

Ajay smiled gratefully, "Actions speak louder than words."

"I know." he assured her.

"I'm glad you two are going to work stuff out and all, but I'm giving you a fair warning…watch yourself."

"That's enough Alex." Aiden groaned at his over protectiveness.

"Great, more good news." Alex threw his hands up and went to the front door when he saw Adam pulling up.

Adam walked in without even a glance at Alex.

He took his glasses and jacket off and sat beside Aiden, "Are you okay after last night?"

"I'm fine, just a little sore this morning." she shrugged, motioning to her hand.

"What about other than your hand? Are you and the babies okay?" he continued.

"We're fine, thank you for asking." she smiled.

"I want to apologize again for last night. For the accident and the fight. I know better than that. That is the last time it will ever happen, I swear. I realized that you are who I should be focusing on and I plan to do that from now on." he told her.

Aiden glanced tentatively over at Alex who was not hiding his disgust at all.

"That would be nice." she said turning back to Adam.

"So I've been thinking about when you go into labor and stuff, maybe we could try some alternative methods." he changed the subject.

"What do you mean?" Ajay spoke up.

"I've been doing some research into less stressful labor methods and I think we should try a water birth. A lot of women said it was relaxing and peaceful…the exact opposite of Lexie's delivery." he explained to Aiden.

Alex laughed out loud, "WE? Motherfucker SHE'S the only one that's going to be in labor! And that has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard! She needs medical staff and equipment for her delivery, not to mention she would have to switch doctors for a mid-wife who would have very limited options to save her or the twins if something went wrong."

"I wasn't _talking_ to you." Adam grated out.

"Ads, it's really sweet that you're trying to make this easier for Cookie, but I'm with Alex on this one. I would feel much better personally if Aiden was with her regular doctor who has dealt with her difficult pregnancy before." Ajay interrupted.

Alex started back in on him before he could say anything, "What if the cord got wrapped around one or both of their necks? Would they be able to handle that on _top_ of taking every precaution with Aiden?"

"You don't know if that's even going to happen Alex!" Adam shot back.

"It did with Lexie! There is even less space for the twins, I would be surprised if it _didn't_ happen." Chris added, not being able to stay silent any longer.

"Sorry for bringing it up…damn!" he said dejectedly.

"I didn't say no." Aiden offered softly.

His eyes lit up, "Really?"

"No…_**fuck**_ no. Its too dangerous for her." Alex answered.

"It's not going to hurt anything to at least look at his research." Aiden scoffed.

"I kinda don't want to bury my wife though, that's my only issue." he smarted off.

"Can we please stop talking about that?" she shrieked.

She pushed off of the couch and left the room. Adam glared at Alex as he followed Aiden out of the room.

"I'll try to talk to her." Ajay whispered following her brother.

"God damn I can't catch a fucking break!" Alex hissed.

"You seriously can't let him talk her into that. It will never fucking work, he might as well put a fucking gun to her head!" Chris growled desperately.

"What else can I do? He's like a fucking leech, he won't let her go, I can't get rid of him!" Alex almost shouted.

"I can't help you dude." Chris put his head in his hands, "I can't lose Ajay."

"I know." Alex sighed, "What else can I do though?"

"This is Adam we're talking about. He's the king of fuck ups. All we have to do is wait. He'll hang himself in no time." Chris finally said.

"We're running out of time. Aiden's only got a few more months until she's due and then we'll never get rid of him." Alex pointed out.

"Its _Adam_…it won't take that long. There's no way we're going to lose Aiden because of him. Trust me." Chris promised.

* * *

**_Thanks first off to my wonderful thought provoking beta A Midnight Vixen. One word: SPECTACULAR!_**

**_Secondly, thanks to my all of my readers, especially the lovelies that reviewed: Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho(twice! muah!), babygirlleahrox, xSamiliciousx, Sarcastic Nightmare, and fairytink101. _**


	42. That Was Easy

**Thanks to my awesome, super special, thought provoking beta A Midnight Vixen. She's the best ever!**

******I think all of you lovely people are going to enjoy this one.**

* * *

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

* * *

"Dude, where was your head at?" Chris complained limping from the ring.

"I don't know." Alex said, his brow furrowed.

"Hey stupid, what happened out there?" Ajay criticized, punching Alex in the arm.

They went back to their locker room. Ajay fussed over her husband as Alex unwrapped the tape from his wrists.

"Okay, so now do you want to tell us what's going on with you?" Ajay demanded, shutting the door from prying eyes and ears.

He dropped the tape into the trashcan and pulled off his elbow pads.

"What's wrong?" Chris wondered finally having enough of the unusual silence.

Everyone knew that if Alex was quiet something was very wrong.

"Earth to asshole?" Ajay spouted off.

He threw the elbow pads across the room and kicked the trashcan over, "Your stupid fucking brother is driving me crazy! The last three weeks he's been Aiden's shadow, waiting on her hand and foot, taking her shopping, for massages, mani-pedis or whatever the fuck they're called. Just before the match, I called to check on her and Adam was taking her to some birth center where they specialize in water deliveries! So pardon me if I'm a little preoccupied about how your brother is brainwashing Aiden."

Ajay looked a little hurt by his statement, "He is genuinely trying to help though. He's not trying to hurt her at all."

"I think I know what's best for my wife. Ajay, and if you've got a problem with that you can take a seat next to your bitch ass brother who is also waiting for me to give a fuck." Alex seethed.

"I can't deal with you right now, I really can't." Ajay sobbed, rushing out of the room.

"Babe, wait up….don't cry okay?" Chris followed her.

Alex dropped onto the couch; the match, his emotions all catching up to him at once. He re-read the text Aiden had sent him and got furious all over again. He chucked his phone at the wall only getting mild satisfaction when it snapped into pieces.

The door swung back open and Chris appeared looking very pissed off.

"Listen, I'm pretty sick and fucking tired of Ajay crying because of your smart mouth. What Adam does with Aiden has nothing to do with her and isn't her fault so don't blame her because you're all mad." he yelled loudly.

Alex rolled his eyes, really not wanting to fight with Chris at the moment.

"I didn't mean to make her cry…she needs to stop being such a cry baby though for real." Alex countered.

Chris checked over his shoulder to watch the door shut, "Okay, you have got to fucking do something about Adam! Why the hell are you not putting your foot down about this dip shit idea of his!"

Alex's brow furrowed as his head tilted sideways, "But you just…"

Chris waved him off impatiently, "So I don't get in trouble with Ajay."

"So you're still with me on this then?" Alex asked.

"_No, I think Adam is the perfect guy for Aiden_…of course I am!" he checked back over his shoulder, "Ajay can't know that I am though. She wants me to mind my own business but it's all I can think about. How Adam can seriously still be pushing this is beyond me. We've got to stop him."

Alex looked more than a little relieved, "She won't find out from me, I swear."

"I'm more worried about how in the hell we're going to protect Aiden. I do **NOT** have a good feeling about her entertaining this 'cute and thoughtful' idea of Adam's. I haven't been able to sleep because of this. It's making me crazy!" Chris growled, pacing back and forth.

"I thought he was going to get rid of himself there for a little while. Aiden told me she was getting scared to be around his klutzy ass." Alex muttered.

"We'll think of something. Now come on and apologize to Ajay so she doesn't get suspicious." Chris ordered.

He heaved a sigh, "Se does need to get thicker skin. Where is she hiding the old Ajay? You know the one that hits and kicks people?"

"She's pregnant; she can't do all of that." Chris reminded, "And sound sincere so I don't have to kick your ass."

Alex scoffed mockingly.

* * *

"Hi! How was your trip?" Aiden greeted enthusiastically when Alex, Chris and Ajay walked in.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked immediately when he saw Adam sitting behind Aiden massaging her shoulders.

"We went to our first Lamaze class last night and were practicing some of the techniques." Adam answered, kissing Aiden's neck.

"It was so much fun! I'm sad we didn't get to go when I was pregnant with Lexie." she said leaning back to rest her head on Adam's shoulder, "We learned breathing techniques, massage therapy, movement to encourage a quick labor process, what else Adam?"

"Pain and stress management, breastfeeding, it was pretty much an overview of the course and what we're going to learn in the next couple of weeks." he finished for her, "Aiden was really amazing. Just hearing everything she's capable of as a mother was exciting. She was like a goddess."

"Yeah, so can you not practice in our living room? Confine it to the classroom setting…thanks." Alex icily cut him off.

Ajay punched him, "_Be. Nice._"

"_Suck. My dick._" he hissed.

Aiden kissed his lips with a pout, "You don't like the way I do it anymore?"

"Ewww, Cookie!" Ajay squealed.

"I love the way you do it babe." Alex smirked, kissing her again, "Maybe you could do it right now?"

"We've got another class to go to tonight Ai." Adam reminded confidently.

"Of course you do." Alex threw his hands up.

Aiden shook her head at him, "It's not until another hour and a half."

He tucked her hair behind her ears, "I feel like I haven't got spend any time with you sweetheart, I miss you."

"I love you." she smiled.

Adam felt his phone vibrating and saw that it was Mollie. He picked it up, not able to stand the nauseating scene Alex was creating in front of him.

"Hey, what's up?" he answered.

"Oh nothing, just laying here naked, wondering when I'm going to see you again." she teased.

He pinched the bridge of his nose seeing Alex cup both of Aiden's breasts as he led her upstairs, "I really fucking hate your boyfriend."

"So do I some days. He has a tendency to be an enormous prick." she agreed, "He just get home?"

"You know it. His new favorite hobby is to practically bed Aiden right in front of me." he complained.

"That's Alex for you." she shrugged.

"Forget him…tell me about the you and the naked part, and I want every detail." he said.

"The part where I'm in bed, waiting for you at our favorite room?" she hinted, "With a bottle of champagne and whipped cream."

"That's pretty tempting, I must say." Adam laughed, sitting on the patio.

"So how long do you have to play with Barbie before you get here?' she pouted.

"That depends." he smiled.

Mollie sighed, "Okay, I'll bite, depends on what?"

"What you want me to do to you when I get there." he whispered.

"Hmm…let me think." she played along.

Adam began listening to Mollie describe in explicit detail what she wanted him to do. Just when he was going to get up to leave, Joey jumped out of his hiding place and snatched his phone away. It took a moment for him to realize what exactly had happened. When he saw Joey running with his phone into the living room where Ajay and Chris were he scrambled out of his seat.

"Joey, give me my phone back right now!" Adam shouted taking off after the little boy.

He turned the corner at full speed and plowed an unsuspecting Aiden over. He barely caught his balance in the scuffle but watched with mounting horror as the petite woman was thrown backwards. She landed hard, her head whip lashing onto the hardwood floor. She lay still for several seconds, trying to blink away the stars dancing in front of her eyes. She groaned trying to sit up but felt instant nausea.

Adam fell to his knees beside her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He bit his lip, his hands shaking as he sat there helplessly. He didn't know if he should move her or not, he didn't know how badly she was injured internally. Wrestling for as long as he had been, he knew for sure she had a concussion.

"Ajay, somebody, help me!" he called out desperately.

Aiden's breathing had changed suddenly and that scared him.

"Oh God, what happened?" Ajay cried kneeling beside her brother.

"Can you sit up slowly baby? I'll help you okay." Chris coaxed, bracing her neck and pulling on her arm.

She cried out sharply as she finally got seated.

"What the fuck?" Alex gasped, coming back downstairs.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Aiden whimpered.

Alex and Ajay escorted her to the bathroom.

Chris' blue eyes were on Adam in an instant, "What did you do this time? Another accident? What's next? Are you going to push her down a flight of stairs? Hit her with your car? Set her on fire?"

"No! I don't know why this stuff keeps happening to me I didn't see her until it was too late." Adam sighed.

They saw Alex carry Aiden to the garage.

"Ajay what's wrong?" Chris went to her seeing that she was pale and crying.

She looked at her brother, "She might be going into premature labor."

Adam felt like he'd been kicked in the balls, "How do you know that? Are you sure?"

"She was bleeding and felt what could have been a contraction." she told him.

He stopped Alex in the hall, "Will you let me ride with you please?"

"Whatever, let's go." he relented.

Adam slid into the backseat with Aiden who was holding her stomach, a mask of pain on her face. Alex was on the phone with Dr. Thomas letting him know they were on their way.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart." Adam whispered.

"I can't _think_ about that right now!" she whimpered.

He nodded, taking her hand from her stomach to hold, "Remember to breathe, take deep breaths and try to relax."

"_I can't right now."_ She hissed.

"Did you want a massage? Will that help?" he offered hopefully.

She snatched her hand back, "I want you to leave me alone so I can focus. I can't have the babies yet…it's still too early for them."

He nodded and moved away from her slightly. The sting of her words sliced at him. He was only trying to help. They pulled up to the hospital where a team of nurses were waiting for them.

"Only one of you can come back with her." a nurse stopped the men.

"I'm the father." Adam announced.

"I'm her husband." Alex said almost at the same time.

"Alex…" Aiden called out in pain and fear.

"Let's go." the nurse nodded at Alex.

They jogged to catch up to Aiden.

Adam found a seat in the waiting room feeling completely useless. He felt even worse when he saw Ajay, Chris, and Gran come in.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Ajay asked.

"They just took her back." he said.

"Why aren't you back there with her?" Gran questioned.

"She wanted Alex with her." he said with a shrug.

"I need something to eat. I can't just sit here." Ajay muttered feebly.

Chris stood up to go with her.

She waved him off, "You stay here in case they come back, Gran will go with me."

He sat back down, bouncing his leg in furious silence. This was the opportunity he and Alex had been waiting for. Adam was a "runner" just like Ajay. When times got too tough, they ran to escape their problems. They had been doing it since they were born. Ajay was much more stable since getting married and having children, Adam was loosing his grasp. He was his own weakest link, and Chris knew all he had to do was kick him while he was down and doubting himself.

"Aiden really doesn't need you here, _nobody_ does actually." He said quietly.

Adam looked up in shock, "What do you mean?"

Chris tilted his head in a nonchalant shrug, "She's got plenty of people who will take care of her. You know people that don't hurt her and send her to the hospital in the first place."

Adam narrowed his eyes, "I thought you were going to mind your own business for Ajay's sake?"

"Aiden will always be my business. She's a very big part of our lives and I don't take very kindly to you 'accidentally' destroying that." he said.

"I'm not doing anything on purpose I swear. I don't know how this keeps happening." Adam frowned, looking very defeated.

"I think you need to take the hint. It's pretty obvious to me that the world is trying to tell you that you shouldn't' be around her. You're poison Adam. Look at Joey, he's your son and was mentally and physically abused when you tried to be a part of his life for that short time period. You were the reason Addison abused him. She was mad at you and took it out on him." Chris accused.

Adam shook his head, "That's not true."

"And now with Aiden, your poison is trying to take her and the babies out before they're even born. Would you be able to live with yourself knowing that they were in pain, suffering, or even died because of you?" he continued.

"I'm not poison…" he argued half heartedly.

"Think about it. Seriously think about it, then tell me you're not. All of your failed marriages, ex-girlfriends that hate you…your parents that left you." Chris whispered, "Think about it."

Ajay and Gran returned.

"I got you a root beer. They didn't have any actual beer so I figured this would be pretty good." Ajay smiled holding out the soft drink to Adam.

"I don't want anything." he said softly, his face stoic, lost in thought.

Gran patted his arm, "It was an accident Adam. We know you didn't do it on purpose."

He leaned forward, dropping his head, "What if something's wrong with her or the babies? She said that they couldn't be born yet…what if she miscarriages this late and its all my fault?"

Ajay frowned at Gran, she felt so sorry for her brother.

She moved closer to him, "Don't worry Ads, Pops I watching over them. He saved them once already, he can do it again."

He sat up and pulled her into a hug, tears falling from his eyes. Gran rubbed his back soothingly. He let out a deep breath, looking over at Chris who was staring at him darkly.

* * *

**THREE HOURS LATER**

* * *

"How is she?" Adam almost begged.

"She's resting at the moment. We were able to stop her labor, but she is going to have to be on strict bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy." he said.

"What about her head?" Ajay asked.

"She has a mild concussion that we're monitoring closely. She's going to stay overnight to be on the safe side. You're free to go and see her; I would recommend only two or three at a time. She doesn't need to be stressed out or pushed to talk a lot tonight. She needs to relax and take it easy so she doesn't start having contractions again." he smiled.

"Thank you.' Gran said, "Adam, why don't you go first?"

He hesitated but followed the nurse to Aiden's room. He stopped at the doorway seeing Alex holding her and whispering into her hair.

"I can come back." he said awkwardly.

"No, its okay." Aiden sighed, letting Alex go.

"I'll be right outside." he told her with a pointed glare at his nemesis.

He went outside keeping a close eye on Aiden. Gran and Ajay went inside when they saw Adam break down.

"He's so fucking pathetic." Alex stewed, "What is he crying for? He's the one that caused all of this."

Chris nodded in agreement, "He's barely hanging on. This is our chance to get rid of him for good. I've already started on him, now all you have to do is finish him off."

Alex smirked, "I think I've got a good idea how to do that."

Inside the room, Gran was adjusting the covers on Aiden, "Son why don't you go and get yourself together, and go get some fresh air for a minute."

He looked over at her with watery eyes, "I probably should. I don't want to upset her anymore than I have already."

Aiden took his hand and pressed it to her lips, "It was an accident. I know that."

He wet his lips, "It doesn't make it right. I should have been more careful. If anything would have happened to you or the babies…"

Aiden closed her eyes as he trailed off, her hand resting on her stomach.

"It didn't though. That's what we're thankful for." Ajay whispered holding Aiden's hand.

He nodded, though nothing they were going to say would make him feel better. By trying to hide his fling with Mollie, he had almost lost his children.

Maybe Chris was right…maybe he was toxic and somehow inadvertently destroying everything he loves.

He stepped outside only to see Alex and Chris waiting ominously. Usually he was ready to defend himself, this time was different. What could he defend?

"Go ahead and yell at me, I know I deserve it." he frowned.

Alex crossed his arms, "I got a better idea actually. Why don't you leave?"

"I can' just leave…all of this is my fault. What if she starts having contractions again?" he said.

"He means permanently." Chris clarified.

Adam looked up at them slowly, "You're joking right?"

They both shook their heads.

"I can't just leave her…she's pregnant with my kids." he argued.

"So was Addison and you left her." Chris retorted.

Adam opened his mouth to say something but Alex stopped him.

"We know she's different, this is different, you're different…whatever." Alex said sarcastically before he became serious, "I think that you need to really think about what is best for Aiden and the twins."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked fearfully.

"One more 'accident' on your part and that's it. She's going to have those babies whether we're all ready or not. You can't seriously want to risk that by sticking around." Chris explained.

"But…we're going to those classes…she was going to help me be a father." he mumbled.

"Listen…fuck all of that throw that shit out of the window. If you really want what's best for everyone you need to take us up on this offer and leave. Disappear just like you did with Joey." Alex said.

Adam stood in shocked silence. Chris nudged Alex to keep going. He could see the wheels turning in Adam's head.

"Sign over parental rights to me. Aiden and I will raise them just like Chris and Ajay did Joey. You can leave now and once they're born you can come sign the paperwork and everything will be done. The babies and Aiden will both be safe and well taken care of. You'll have nothing to worry about." Alex assured.

Adam stared off into space thinking about their proposition.

"You're not ready for this, that's obvious. Aiden won't be mad at you, she'll understand. I'll handle Ajay, this will all blow over just like last time. Just say yes and we'll take care of the rest." Chris coaxed.

Adam had tears falling down his face as he looked at Alex, "You'll take care of them like they're your own, even though they're mine?"

"I swear on Aiden's life I will." Alex promised.

"Fuck…"Adam cursed as more tears fell, "I can't hurt them anymore, I have to do this, this is what's best for them."

Alex and Chris watched as Adam talked himself into their plan.

"Will you tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her?" Adam anguished as he turned to look at Aiden one final time.

"She'll know you love her by making this sacrifice for her and the babies." Alex said.

Adam nodded and rushed to the elevator before he could change his mind. Chris and Alex watched him leave.

"That was easy." Alex grinned.

Chris chuckled and smirked, "I told you it would be."

* * *

**_Think Adam's gone for good? Review and let me hear what you think about this little twist :)_**

**_p.s. Thanks to: fairytink101, babygirlleahrox, xSamiliciousx, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Alice Jericho for their lovely reviews! _**

**_p.s.s. Your name should be with theirs :) just sayin! xoxo_**


	43. Decisions, Decisions

**_Thanks as always goes out to my awesome beta A Midnight Vixen! She's the best! _**

**_Thanks to all who reviewed as well!_**

* * *

Alex and Chris returned to Aiden's room, removing the smug looks from their faces before they did.

"Did you see Adam?" Ajay asked Chris as she fell into his embrace.

"Yeah, he said he needed to clear his head for awhile." he said kissing her cheek, "How are you holding up?"

She nodded more to herself, "I'll be okay as long as the babies are."

He glanced over at Alex who was holding Aiden's hand as she slept. Everything was going to be just fine now. A few hours later Aiden awoke to hushed whispers and muffled crying.

"He's not picking up his phone, his car is gone, I can't handle this again. He can't do this again, it's just not fair!" Ajay cried.

Gran held her granddaughter as she tried to make sense of the situation, "We don't know anything yet Ashton. I'm sure he feels guilty again about causing another accident. We can't condemn him right away."

"I will never speak to him again if he really did leave." She promised.

"I'll be glad if he did. We won't have to worry about Aiden going into premature labor with him not around." Alex threw out there.

"Adam's gone?" Aiden spoke up.

All eyes shot to her.

"We're not sure yet. We can't get in touch with him." Chris answered warily.

Aiden wet her lips and sighed, "I was afraid he might do this."

"We'll keep trying to reach him. No need to worry." Gran assured her.

"I want him to come back for the right reasons, not because he was threatened or pressured." She frowned, "I think that will only push him further away."

She had a bad feeling when she had seen Adam that he might resort to leaving her.

Ajay pushed out of Chris' embrace, "He's not going to run away again. I won't let him."

Gran shook her head at Ajay, and pointed outside. She wanted to avoid upsetting Aiden with the escalating situation.

Alex went to his wife after everyone left the room.

He kissed her lips and placed a hand on her cheek, "Don't you think it would be better this way? He'll be off doing whatever he does far away from where he can hurt you; and I can take care of you and the twins."

"Maybe." she answered softly.

"It wasn't anything you did, it was his own guilty conscience." he told her.

She nodded stiffly.

He pulled her into a hug, "You know I would never leave you like that."

Aiden swallowed the sadness that was already growing in her heart.

* * *

Adam let himself into the hotel room tossing his jacket onto the chair as he undressed.

"Bout time you got here." she smiled, "Thought I was going to have to drink this all by myself."

She slinked out of bed completely nude and offered him a glass of the expensive champagne. He downed it in one gulp and threw the glass to the side, the delicate flute breaking into pieces. Mollie's wide eyes locked on his as he took her glass, drank the contents and threw it to the side as well.

"Adam…" She started but was stopped as he picked her up and dropped her onto the bed.

He was inside of her before she could protest. Long fluid strokes made her forget her argument and when he began manipulating her legs into different positions she lost herself completely. She curled her nails into his skin as he thrust into her urgently. She let out a loud scream as she hit her climax, thrashing her head back and forth. He buried himself deep within her finding his own release.

He collapsed on top of her, heaving for air. She was kissing his sweat soaked skin, reveling in their most intense meeting yet. Finally he got off her and grabbed a cigarette and lighter from his coat. He disappeared onto the balcony. She followed him out clad in his t-shirt.

"I didn't know you smoked." she commented.

"I don't." he answered gruffly.

"Okay…" she muttered, "What's wrong with you now?"

He ignored her and scanned the skyline through his exhaled smoke.

She shrugged, "I'm going back in, it's cold out here."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He took another long drag of the cigarette and put it out. Instinctively she cradled his head to her chest running her fingers gently through his silky hair.

He squeezed his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, "I can't see you anymore after tonight."

Her hands stilled, "Why is that?"

"I just can't. I've got too much going on, and I don't want to drag you into it." he mumbled.

"We meet up randomly to have sex." she pointed out with a laugh, "No one knows about us."

He let out a frustrated breath.

"Adam, just tell me what's going on." she sighed, "Are you getting back with Aiden?"

He chuckled, "No…I'm leaving her."

Mollie turned in his arms, "You're leaving her?"

"She almost went into labor tonight." he said staring off into the distance again.

"What are you doing here then? Shouldn't you be with her?" she asked semi-outraged.

He shook his head, "It was my fault. I plowed into her when I was chasing Joey. I just keep hurting her and putting her in danger. This is what's best for everybody."

She sat pensively for a moment, "You don't really want to make that mistake again do you? You've been arguing the whole time that this isn't like the last time with Joey, so why are you turning it into that?"

"I hurt people, most of the time unintentionally but I've been known to make some bad decisions." He stated, finally focusing on her, "I'm selfish, a huge jerk, and its just better if I leave."

"I can't tell you what to do, but I do want to point out that I think you leaving is a mistake. You have the opportunity to be a father and do it right this time and you're throwing it all away." she said solemnly.

"Your point is dully noted." he frowned.

"So you're going to let Alex raise your kids?" she brought up.

Adam rolled his eyes, "He's a fucking prick but he's a decent father, even I can admit that."

"And how did I get lumped into your 'get away' scheme?" she asked with a smile.

"It's only a matter of time before I hurt you too. I know we're not serious by any means but that doesn't mean I want you around for the fallout of my decision. You would get hurt eventually and I don't want that to happen." he anguished.

She framed his face and kissed him slowly, "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself."

"But …" he tried to protest.

She kissed him again, more passionately this time, "I'm nowhere near as fragile as Aiden. Besides, you're going to need at least one friend if you really do plan on leaving."

She could tell he was going to argue and stood up to face him. She lifted the shirt over her head with a wicked smile.

"Can't I convince you?" she batted her eyes.

His eyes were boring holes into her skin. Finally, he stood up and discarded his boxers.

"You're a very bad girl." he murmured, never taking his eyes off of her as he rolled on a contraceptive.

She seductively touched herself in anticipation of him, "I'm exactly what a very bad boy like yourself needs."

He grabbed the back of one of her knees as he positioned himself, "Keep convincing me baby…I think its working."

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER**

* * *

"I love you Lexie girl." Alex smiled as he kissed his daughter.

"Love you too Daddy." she said rubbing her nose against his.

Ajay wiped her eyes, "At least you'll be a good father to my niece and nephew."

"Ajay, don't get all worked up right before I leave." Chris groaned.

"I'm not…I can't help it sometimes though. Being pregnant makes me all emotional." she sniffled as she shifted uneasily in the foyer of their home.

"You boys go ahead so you can hurry back to these girls." Gran urged with a smile.

Alex handed Lexie off to Gran, his brow furrowed, "Aiden wanted to sit outside for awhile, so that's where I left her…umm, out on the swing. You'll call me if she has any problems or anything right?"

"Of course. Don't worry about a thing." Gran assured.

He nodded and waved at Lexie before he left with Chris.

"Are you okay dear?" Gran questioned, letting Lexie go play.

"No…I've been so upset about everything, this whole Adam saga, yet again." she broke into tears again, "I don't know how Cookie holds it together like she does. I would completely lose it if Chris left me while I was pregnant."

"She does have Alex though, I'm sure that makes it a little easier." Gran offered.

Ajay shook her head, "It's not the same. I thought that she would be the one to change him, to make him be the Adam I knew he could be. You know, every time I hope for the best I always get the worst out of him."

Gran nodded sadly, "I thought that too. I think that he feels what he's doing is what's best for her and the children."

Ajay threw her hands up in exasperation, "We'll never know will we? I really don't think I'll ever speak to him again after this. I really am done with this juvenile shit. I warned him but he only cares about himself."

She let out a frustrated shriek before stomping upstairs to her room. Gran closed her eyes with a sigh. She couldn't blame Ajay for the way she felt because they shared some of the same sentiments regarding the situation.

She peeked in on the kids who were watching a movie then went to the back patio to check on Aiden. Her heart broke to see her swinging aimlessly back and forth, cradling her womb.

When she saw she had been crying she rushed out to her, "Aiden…is it the twins?"

She looked up at her, startled at first, "No."

Gran covered her heart in relief, "Then what is it honey?"

Aiden looked up at the darkening sky, eyes full of more tears, "I-I just wish that Adam was here."

Gran felt her own eyes well up, "Aiden, I'm so sorry."

Aiden dropped her eyes to her stomach, "All I can think about is how Addison must have felt when she was pregnant with Joey. She wanted him to love her and their baby so bad…I never thought he would ever make me feel this way."

Gran shook her head in disgust, "You're not the only one angel. He seemed to really love you."

"I thought he did too." she hiccupped, "I mean he _planned_ this…he made sure that we would have a baby together. How can he just walk away from us after all of that?"

Gran sat beside her to hold her, to comfort her in anyway she could.

"He confided in me about Joey, he told me exactly how he felt and what he was thinking and I thought that maybe if I gave him his space he would come back. You know, maybe if I didn't pressure him he would make the right choice this time." she sobbed, "He won't answer my phone calls, or anything…"

"He's avoiding everyone darling, not just you. I wish there was something I could say or do to make this better for you." Gran frowned as thunder echoed off in the distance.

Aiden wiped her eyes, "We should probably go in before it starts raining."

"Honey, you can be strong in front of everyone else, but don't shut me out too." the older woman said squeezing her hand.

"There's nothing else to day. The ball is in his court." Aiden whispered.

Gran watched her carefully walk back inside the house. She was surprised at how much Aiden was hurting. She certainly hadn't let on that she was. How Adam had turned out the way that he had, she would never know. He was always so loving and loyal. He displayed affection that he hadn't received when he was young. He went out of his way to show people he cared and that he would be the person to turn to in a time of need.

Then slowly after he hit puberty, he began reverting into the boy she had first taken in. Scared, defensive, and lonely. Gran had earned his trust and respect and tried to cultivate him into an upstanding young man. She had loved him just as much as her own grandchildren, even sometimes praising him extra because she could tell that he needed it occasionally.

When he left Addison at the hospital somewhere in the very depth of her heart she had reasoned with him. He was still young, at the pinnacle of his career, and she had just delivered his drug-addicted son. She prayed every night that he would call her up and confide in her, to tell her he was okay and that he just needed to cope with everything. Instead, she had worried and grieved over him for two months. The only solace she had was seeing him on TV every week.

As hard as she tried, Gran couldn't wrap her mind around him leaving Aiden. She had seen the raw emotion in his eyes every time he looked at her. Aiden had him firmly rooted and focused on their relationship…or so everyone had thought. Something made him snap and she and the twins fell victim to Adam's wasteland of failed relationships.

Gran came inside; a smile playing on her lips seeing the children all nestled together in the tent Aiden had made for them. She went to the couch where Aidnen had fallen asleep and covered her up with a light blanket.

Ajay watched as Gran smoothed a weathered hand over the younger woman's hair. She pressed a kiss to her fingertips and then to Aiden's forehead, the way she used to when she tucked Ajay in at night as a child.

"Was she okay?" Ajay whispered when Gran joined her in the kitchen.

"She misses your brother." she confessed.

Ajay gritted her teeth, "I swear I could kill him for doing this to her."

Gran nodded ruefully.

* * *

Late the next afternoon Alex and Chris arrived back home, from the tapings.

"I'm glad everything went smoothly while we were gone. You know how I worry about you and Thing One and Two." Alex grinned kissing her abdomen.

Aiden faked a smile, even though she felt like crying again.

Chris peered from around the corner, "Can I talk to you for a sec Pat?"

"Yeah sure. You need anything babe?" he asked.

She shook her head, her sixth sense had peaked. Chris _never_ called Alex 'Pat" unless it was about something pretty important.

She drummed her fingers on the table weighing her options. She had never eavesdropped before in her life. She had unintentionally heard things because of people's uncontrollable voice inflections, but had never purposely listened in on someone's conversation, much less her husband and their best friend.

Maybe if she just waddled by…that would be harmless right? They shouldn't be keeping secrets from her anyways. She eased off the couch dignified in her decision. Come to think of it, she was craving some peach ice tea she made earlier. She took a leisurely stroll, careful so her heels wouldn't click. She could hear them in the office, right off the kitchen.

"Dude, that was _really_ fast." Alex murmured.

"I put a rush on it before we left, so it would be here when we got back." Chris said under his breath.

"I really appreciate this man, I really owe you." Alex thanked.

Aiden went into the kitchen feeling completely silly. She knew there was no need for her to snoop on them. She sipped from her glass deciding that she needed to apologize to them both when they were finished. One of the twins kicked her painfully.

"I know…Mommy shouldn't have done that." she sighed, making her way back to the living room.

"So all Adam has to do is sign these and both of those babies are mine?" Alex asked.

Aiden froze in her tracks, her heart racing.

"We won't have to worry about him hurting them or Aiden ever again." She could hear the sinister smile in Chris' voice, "He won't have a claim on any of them. We won't have anything to worry about after this."

"Except getting Aiden through the delivery, then we'll be home free." Alex said looking over the legal papers Chris had obtained.

They both shot out of their seats when they heard glass shatter.

"What are you doing up baby? Anything you needed we would have gotten for you." Alex fussed over her.

"You should have called us, sweetie." Chris admonished picking up the larger shards.

She backed away from them; furious tears in her eyes, her chest heaving, "What did you do? Why were you talking about Adam?"

Chris and Alex locked eyes with each other. They had just well and royally fucked themselves.

* * *

**_Let me know what you think! _**

**_Shout outs for reviewers next chapter!_**


	44. Don't Come Back

"Okay, first of all calm down." Alex said.

"Answer my question!" she demanded.

He looked at Chris hesitantly, "I got some papers drawn up to legally adopt the twins after they're born and papers for Adam to sign over his parental rights."

"We haven't discussed this." she shook her head.

"What's there to discuss baby? Adam's obviously not planning on being around, and I want to be able to make decisions for you and for them if something happens to you." he explained.

"You don't know that for sure Adam's not going to be around." she argued.

"Look around Aiden; he agreed that it was best to leave anyways." Chris blurted out.

Alex rolled his eyes in disgust as he threw the papers on the desk.

"He agreed? He agreed with the two of you? You put this idea in his head?" she almost screamed.

"Can you like sit down or something babe?" Alex interrupted.

"Do _NOT_ touch me right now!" she hissed snatching her arm away from him, "I want the truth right now!"

"Fine, yes we mentioned that maybe he should leave so that he wouldn't cause you or the twins anymore pain. I'm not sorry for that. He's been gone and you've been doing fine." Alex smarted off.

Aiden stared at her husband for a moment, shocked by his confession.

"We may have over exaggerated a bit, but honestly Aiden, he has no business in your life." Chris said.

"He's their father!" She said hysterically.

"He's Joeys' father too and he's perfectly fine without him. You're getting mad for no reason, so lets get you back into bed so you can calm down some." Alex prompted.

"_I said don't touch me!_" she snarled, "Adam may not seem like the greatest guy in the world, but neither of you know him like I do. He was putting forth his best effort for me and these babies. He wanted to be a father."

Chris scoffed, "He was only doing that to piss Alex off. Adam isn't father material, look at what he did to his own son."

"You know I'm pretty sick and tired of everyone throwing that in my face. He's apologized several times, he's made peace with the situation and if he could change it, I know he would. He should be given a second chance just like Ajay was given. That's only fair." Aiden said narrowing her eyes at her friend, "And what happened to you minding your own business Josh?"

Alex stepped in quickly, "I asked for his help."

"No…she needs to hear the truth Alex." Chris said staring directly at her, "This was my idea. I started this because I can't stand the fact that Adam was ever in the position to hurt you. Alex was helpless in this whole situation so I stepped in."

Aiden shook her head at him, "How could you lie to Ajay's face like that? You said you were going to focus on her and your family."

"And I did., but there was no way that I wasn't going to help Alex get rid of that asshole." Chris sneered.

"Get rid of him? What did you do to him?" she cried, almost afraid to ask.

"We just told him to get lost so he wouldn't fucking kill you. He was seriously like one accident away from 'Final Destination. He's careless and reckless and needed to leave. He'll sign the papers like he said he would, its all taken care of Aiden. This is a necessary evil that you're going to have to deal with." Alex sighed, wishing that she would just accept what they had done.

"He's not signing anything until I've spoken with him." she finalized.

Chris snorted under his breath, "He's not going to talk to you…we made sure of that."

Aiden stomped her foot in frustration, "Why would you do this? How could you bully him into giving up his parental rights?"

Alex was getting more furious by the second, "Picture this alright, you're lying on the bed in a coma and one or both of the twins are having fatal complications. Adam's _nowhere to be fucking found_…who makes any difficult decisions about the babies huh? Riddle me that Batman…that's why his ass needs to sign these papers and get the hell on somewhere."

Aiden folded into herself, the weight of his words hitting her full force. A soft sob escaped her as she turned to go back upstairs.

Chris took the manila folder and threw it across the room; the documents floated everywhere, "Explain to me how after everything Adam has done he still is given the benefit of the doubt by her?"

Alex was staring up the stairs, "Do you think we were too hard on her?"

Chris fell onto the couch, "I don't know. This is for her own good. It's for her own protection. We're doing the right thing."

"Are you still going to think that when Ajay finds out?" Alex asked, finally looking at him.

"Can I stay in your spare room?" He asked, already knowing how Ajay was going to react.

"You didn't even have to ask." Alex sighed hearing the front door open.

Ajay, Jay, and Gran all came in with grocery bags.

"What happened while we were gone?" Jay wondered motioning to the papers strewn everywhere.

"Ajay came back in from the kitchen and picked one up.

The color drained from her face as she read it, "Tell me you didn't. Please tell me you didn't."

She glared at Alex hatefully, placing all of the blame on him.

"You're brother is a dickhead, it's the right thing to do." Chris rolled his eyes.

She turned to him trembling in fury, "You _promised_ me that you would stay out of their business!"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry but I'm not letting Aiden get hurt again."

"I really just don't even matter to you do I? Me, Joey, Kenzie, our new baby boy, we all come second to your 'Aiden Crusade' don't we?" she stated loudly.

He sighed, "That's not true Ashton, you're over exaggerating. I don't get how you can't see this is what is best for your niece and nephew. Adam's out of the picture, they need…"

"They need for you to stay out of it! It's already complicated enough with the three of them, you just make it worse." she screamed, tears streaming down her face, "Does Aiden know what you've done?"

Alex nodded solemnly.

"I'm done with this shit Chris. I refuse to be second in your life, I deserve more than that." she cried.

"It's not like that Ashton…I'm trying to protect our friend and her kids." he argued.

She raised her hand, "Don't…okay? Just don't."

She went up the stairs intending on talking to Aiden.

Gran frowned at Chris and Alex, "This is pretty low, and definitely the last thing Aiden and Ajay need to deal with right now. I'm very disappointed in both of you."

Ajay came back downstairs, "When did she leave?"

Alex sat straight up, "She didn't, she went upstairs."

"She's gone with Lexie to Savannah." she handed over the scrawled note to Alex.

"Fuck! She's supposed to be on bed rest! What the hell is she thinking?" Alex roared, rushing to get his keys to catch up with her.

Ajay stopped him, "Let me handle this. If she feels anything like I do I know she won't want to be around either one of you."

She kissed Joey and Kenzie goodbye and made sure Jay and Gran would watch after them.

Chris stopped her at the door, "Ajay, please don't go chasing after Aiden like this all by yourself. It's just not safe."

"Now you want to worry about me? Are you kidding? I'm not buying it Josh. Go lie to somebody else, because I'm done with you." she cried.

"Ajay…" he tried again, but got the door slammed in his face.

"I hope both of you are happy with yourselves." Gran said stiffly.

* * *

The next afternoon Aiden pulled into Adams' drive in Florida. She had dropped Lexie off with her parents and took a quick nap before she continued on her journey despite their protests. She let herself in after knocking several times. He apparently wasn't at home. The house was neat and tidy as it always was.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the masculine scent that was surrounding her. Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered always falling asleep against the pulse of his neck because she loved his scent so much. She dropped her purse onto the couch, making her way through the living room. She smiled at how he always lined his remotes up on the coffee table just like she did. He had his little OCD tendencies as well. She went to the kitchen frowning a little at the scarce contents of the fridge. Mail was tossed on the table haphazardly. She took it with her to his office. She flipped on the light in one of his favorite rooms.

He had kept the décor of the rest of his house modern and minimal; this room was his haven however. Guitars and action figures were displayed on the walls. Framed photographs were hung on almost every surface of him and several of his idols. Adam's very essence was saturated in the room. She smiled at the pictures of him, Jay, and Ajay, they all looked so happy. She went to his desk to put the mail down and saw several pictures of herself and Adam in collages on the desk. She laughed remembering some of the photos they had taken.

She didn't realize she could miss him so badly. He was right though, they could have been great together. She bumped the computer mouse making his screen come on. She sat down in the chair slowly as the tears fell. He had put the sonogram of the twins as his background. She sat staring at the image of the children they had created together, all of those emotions rushing at her suddenly.

"Aiden? What are you doing here?" Adam appeared suddenly in the hall.

She had been so caught up she hadn't even heard him come in.

"I had to talk to you. "She whispered feebly.

"You need to leave. It's not safe for you to be here." he told her.

"I know that Alex and Chris said a lot of things to discourage you." she began.

"It doesn't matter who said what. You shouldn't be here. You need to leave now." he frowned.

"What are you talking about? Nothing is going to happen to me. You're not a bad person Adam." she said.

He was getting antsy, she could tell, "Does Alex even know you're here? Seriously, Aiden, we have nothing to talk about. I'll call him to come and get you."

She went to him and took his phone from him, her heart twisting when she saw the picture they took at Lamaze class on the screen. He was sitting behind her with his hands on her stomach and his lips on her cheek. It was the last time she had genuinely smiled in months.

"I thought we were going to do this together." she whispered still looking at the screen.

"We were until I started messing up. We've got to face the truth; I'm not able to be a good father. All I've done is cause you stress and pain and that's just not fair to you. Alex and Chris were right, I needed to step away from the situation." he said.

She looked up at him, "No they aren't. I know an Adam no one else does. I fell in love with you because of the person you truly are. What they did to you was cruel and unfair. They played on your insecurities and made you believe their lies. You can be a great father, I know you can."

He backed away from her, "No, I've made up my mind. If I'm involved, things will only go badly for you."

"You're wrong. They said those things to make you leave Adam, they aren't true." Aiden argued.

He took her by the arm, and began walking her back to the front door. He grabbed her purse and handed it to her as he opened the door, "Go back to Alex and don't come back here."

"No! You're not listening to me! I love you Adam and I promised we would make it through this together. You can't just leave us!" she cried.

He pinched his eyes shut not able to look at the heartbreak on her face, "I'm not good for you Aiden, I _never_ was. Just go."

He tried to pull her closer to the door, but she dug her heels in and did something he hadn't expected her to do.

She kissed him.

When his brain comprehended what she was doing it was like a million volts were coursing through his body. He took her shoulders and pushed her away from him. He was gasping for air she had caught him that off guard.

"Please go. I don't want to hurt you, but I know I can't say no to you." he begged her.

She gently put his hair behind his ears, "Then don't. I'm not afraid of you Adam. I'm not afraid to be around you."

He flexed his jaw, "We can't do this baby…"

She untied the flowing halter dress and let it drop to the floor, her sunset eyes daring him to make the next move. He wet his lips taking in her form as she stood in nothing but her heels. It was clear he was indecisive as he stood there looking her up and down.

Did she not hear what he was saying? Was she really that naive to think that he wasn't capable of hurting her more than he already had? Why did she have to be his drug?

Finally, he couldn't stand the temptation any longer. He ripped his shirt over his head and closed his mouth onto hers. He lifted her into his arms and took her into his bedroom to claim her once again.

* * *

**_yeah...lol..._**

**_Thanks to my fantabulous beta A Midnight Vixen! And thanks to all of the kickass peeps that reviewed, sorry for not getting back to some of you the link was messed up(again...)_**

**_*Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, avchocaholic, xSamiliciousx, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Babykiad(I would LOVE for this to be a movie...or a soap opera lol)_**

**_Thanks lovlies!_**


	45. Time To Go

**_Hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! Thanks to A Midnight Vixen for all of her hard work!_**

* * *

Ajay let herself into her brother's home completely exhausted. She had stopped in Savannah only to find that Aiden had dropped Lexie off and continued down to Florida. She stayed long enough to say hello and leave before she was forced to answer any questions. Aiden apparently hadn't told them about any of the drama she was dealing with because they became highly suspicious of Ajay when she showed up asking about her.

The house was quiet as she stepped further in. She sighed and shook her head seeing Aiden's dress and her brother's shirt on the floor. Of course things had lead to that. It usually did where Adam was concerned. She could admit that those two had chemistry, she could. Nevertheless, she was not about to let Adam off the hook for leaving again that easily. It was never going to happen.

She groaned inwardly, she really didn't want to walk in on them going at it again. She wandered into the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice to prolong the inevitable. She saw the message light on his answering machine flash and couldn't help herself. She wanted to know exactly what the hell he'd been doing the past month while he was gone.

"Hey its Mollie…umm you didn't call me last night and I was concerned. If you need to cancel our plans tomorrow, that's fine, just let me know. Sorry I'm rambling…you do that to me sometimes. Anyways, if I don't hear from you, I guess I'll just see you in the morning. Bye Lovah." she giggled ending the call.

Ajay suddenly felt sick. He had been with _Mollie _this whole time? Even more importantly, she was due over at Adam's house at any time. She rushed upstairs and put her ear to his bedroom door. When she didn't hear anything, she opened it a crack.

She let out a breath…at least they weren't completely naked this time. Aiden was asleep on Adam's chest, the sheets barely covering their lower bodies.

Ajay tip toed over to her brother and tapped him on the shoulder, "Adam…wake up."

He grumbled angrily pulling Aiden closer.

She tapped him harder, "Adam."

He opened his eyes glaring at her, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Shh…." she pointed at Aiden, "We need to talk."

He muttered several choice words under his breath as he reached for his boxers. Gently he maneuvered away from Aiden covering her up and kissing her forehead. Her mood softened a bit seeing the affectionate side of her brother again. They slipped out of the room quietly and went back downstairs to the kitchen.

"What do you want Ajay?" he asked, putting his hair into a ponytail.

"Do you even have to ask?" she sighed.

He turned to the stove in silence.

"Why did you leave again Adam?" she rolled her eyes at having to give in and ask him.

"Why don't you ask Chris and Alex?" he answered quietly.

"They didn't help things that's for sure, but it was your decision to make." she pointed out.

He was making Aiden breakfast but stopped, "It killed me to leave, but at the same time it killed me to continue hurting her."

"She missed you so much." Ajay said tearing up.

"She told me." he said, "I'm not going anywhere now Ajay. Leaving was a mistake. I'm going to be with her until the end."

Ajay stared at him pensively, "As happy as that makes me, I have to ask you what the hell you're thinking."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're with Mollie? They _hate_ each other." she said, "She left a message saying she was coming over. You know that will totally send Aiden over the edge if they have a confrontation."

"That's why I already took care of it and texted her last night." he smarted off, pissed that she had been snooping.

"Ads what are you doing?" she asked him with a sad look on her face.

"Thanks for drinking all the orange juice." he said sarcastically.

"Aiden doesn't drink orange juice, don't change the subject. What are you doing with Mollie?" she asked again.

"It's nothing serious with Mollie. She understood what I was going through and that's it. Mollie is just Mollie, she a good friend." he tried to explain.

"Just like Aiden was just Aiden and look where that got us." Ajay groaned.

"It's a completely different situation that I wish you would stay out of and let me handle." he remarked pointedly.

"You're playing with fire being with Mollie and Aiden at the same time. If either one of them finds out, all hell could break loose. Mollie isn't all sweet and innocent like Aiden is, she'll hurt you. She'll kick your ass." Ajay warned him.

He smirked sarcastically, "I appreciate your concern."

She put a hand on his arm, "I'm very serious, be careful with Mollie, especially where it concerns Aiden and those babies."

"Alright." he rolled his eyes.

"And what are you doing with Aiden? You must really enjoy keeping shit stirred up." she closed her eyes just thinking about all of the repercussions.

He laughed then, "You know, no one ever believes that she comes onto me so why bother trying to tell you that's what happened?"

"Regardless of whether she did or not, you should stop her. She's overly emotional right now, you know that. How is she going to feel when she wakes up this morning and thinks about Alex?" Ajay argued.

Adam read between the lines, "Last night wasn't a mistake. She's not going to regret coming to me. Alex pushed her right back into my arms again. That's what I do, I pick up his pieces."

"She's not going to leave him despite what he did." Ajay sighed, really praying he didn't have his hopes up for that to happen.

Adam dumped a pile of eggs onto a plate for his sister, "I know that. I've come to terms with that, but what we have goes a lot deeper than what she has with Alex. He's her constant, he's what she knows. I'm what she wants. I'm her passion, her desire, her free spirit. He can never take that away from me."

"Morning." Aiden interrupted, yawning sleepily.

The siblings shared a look of understanding to keep quiet in front of Aiden about their discussion.

She turned bright red when she saw Ajay, "I didn't know you came down."

Ajay nodded, "Of course."

Adam tilted her chin up to kiss Aiden deeply. She pushed away quickly, glancing over at Ajay.

"She's not going to say anything. Don't worry." he pulled her back.

Ajay watched as her best friend almost melted back into her brother's embrace. He was right, their chemistry was undeniable. She averted her eyes when they finally broke apart. Aiden sat at the table to eat, Adam right by her side.

"So I assume you found out what Alex and Chris have been up to?" Aiden asked, breaking up the silence finally.

"I really don't know why I'm surprised. Its totally typical for them to do whatever it takes to get their way and to protect you. They don't think about anyone or anything else." Ajay fumed.

"If I had known what they were doing…that Chris was going behind your back, I would have told you or tried to stop them." she said feeling guilty.

"It's not your fault. Those two just can't seem to help themselves." she sighed.

She could not blame Aiden for Chris' unhealthy obsession with her.

"So umm, you're not going to tell Alex about this are you?" Aiden asked meekly.

"What exactly is 'this'? I mean, you're married to Alex…you were done with Adam, you and him were platonic and now I come here and find you in bed with him." Ajay said.

Aiden lowered her eyes with even more guilt, "I was so mad at Alex and then he wouldn't believe that I wasn't afraid to be around him…I'm just emotional and I just don't know how to answer you. If Alex knew about this he would be furious, I don't know what he would do."

Adam was glaring at his sister behind Aiden's head.

"Cookie, I'm not going to say anything." Ajay gave in, "Just be careful…take it easy for me? You're supposed to be on bed rest, remember?"

"Which is exactly where we're headed…back to bed." Adam grinned taking the dishes to the sink, "Make yourself at home Ajay, but do _not_ come in my room for any reason, got it?"

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever you perv."

He led Aiden back upstairs leaving Ajay alone to bask in her loneliness. All she thought about when she was alone was Chris and their babies and how messed up everything was. She continually dug deep to keep herself from blaming Aiden but it was so hard! Wasn't it human nature to compare one thing to another? To pick apart every little detail between the two of them. Uggh, her head hurt to think about it all. She went to the guest room and settled in for a long overdue nap. At least then, she could temporarily escape her dismal reality.

* * *

A few hours later Ajay sat on the couch flipping through the channels extremely annoyed. She hit the volume button to bump it up a few more notches, still able to hear the grunting and moaning from upstairs. She froze hearing the front door close. She was overly relieved when Jay walked into the living room rather than Mollie.

"Are you deaf?" Jay asked loudly, using his hands to mockingly sign to her too.

"No." she hit the mute button, "I'm trying to drown them out."

Jay listened to the vigorous activity happening just above his head.

"Wow, he's really giving it to her." Jay commented, earning a slap from Ajay, "Oww! Let's go outside and talk then."

She followed him out to the patio.

"Did Gran send you to come check on me?" Ajay wondered taking a seat.

"Sort of. Everybody was worried about both of you so we all made the trip down here." he told her.

Ajay's eyes went wide, "Chris is down here too?"

"Yep. He was the one who suggested it." he said.

She scoffed, "He was probably more worried about Aiden."

Jay frowned, "That's not true. You're not going to like me saying this but I feel I have to. Chris did what he did more out of spite for Adam than for Aiden's benefit. Chris has always been more than a little reserved about Adam's presence, even around you."

She looked confused.

"Adam brings out the wild side in everybody, that's his thing. While you were busy living it up with Adam, Chris was always sitting in the corner fuming. He's protective over you too sis. You just don't see it like everyone on the outside sees it." he explained.

"So you're taking his side then?" she exclaimed.

"No Ajay, I'm just trying to tell you that Chris and Adam have always butted heads. They're total opposites." he told her softly, "Chris has tried to shield you somewhat from Adam, so it's not all that surprising that he would do the same thing with Aiden."

Ajay looked up to the sky trying to hold back her tears, "Why do I feel this way then? Why does he make me second best all the time?"

Jay chewed on his lip, "Fear makes people do a lot of abnormal things. I'm not using that as an excuse but it _is_ at least one explanation. He's comfortable with his life right now. He's got you, his kids, his best friend and his wife and their kids, its comfortable and easy. Almost losing Aiden shook all of that up. You've made adjustments to further protect Aiden after all of that went down. You react differently in certain situations since then too; he just tends to do it a little more."

Ajay let her tears fall, "But I never put Aiden before my babies and I rarely put her before Chris if I can help it."

Jay nodded, "I understand that sweetie. He has his faults, we all do, but you have to know that Aiden is not what he wants. He protects her for yours and Alex's sake just as much as his own. He loves his crazy life with you. Aiden is a part of that and she would be a huge missing piece. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

Ajay laughed through her tears, "Why do you always have to make sense?"

He smiled, "I suppose that's one of my faults."

* * *

Upstairs in Adam's room, the couple were reveling in their afterglow.

"I could stay like this forever baby." Adam whispered.

They were both lying on their sides facing each other.

Aiden smiled shyly, before growing serious, "Adam, why did you leave us?"

He blew out a deep breath, resting a hand on her stomach, "It's hard to explain."

She put her hand on his cheek, "You know you can always talk to me Adam. We've always been able to talk to each other."

He pressed his forehead to hers, "I don't want to hurt you."

Aiden kissed him gently, "You won't. Please talk to me."

He shifted his eyes and chewed on his lip the way he always did when he didn't want to tell her something. He knew he owed it to her, but coming clean was not a forte of his.

"Please Adam?" she asked softly.

He looked into her eyes, fear present all over his face, "Living my life, growing up the way I did has led me to this. My parents left me; I was abandoned just like Ajay and Jay. Gran adopted me and their family completely changed my life. The problem is that I'll always have residual issues from being abandoned.

He paused gritting his teeth from the pain of having to admit another dark secret of his to her. Every time she pushed him to talk all he could picture was her being tainted by yet another skeleton from his closet. He kept praying his next confession wasn't going to be the one that ran her off for good.

"Please talk to me Adam. I'm here for you." Aiden pleaded.

"I push people…intentionally. I test my boundaries with people all the time because I expect people to leave me. I try to force people to give up on me, to leave me before I get attached to them and end up getting hurt all over again." he admitted, "When you didn't leave me, when you kept fighting for me and sticking by my side, I didn't know how to react. Nobody I've ever been in love with has been able to deal with that side of me on top of everything else."

Aiden wrapped her arms around him. God help her but she couldn't help to be drawn into him. The broken side of him called to her to comfort and heal his fractured psyche. She wanted desperately to make him better, to quelch the long standing fears and insecurites within him. He saw her as his savior from his shadowy other side, and she couldn't disappoint him.

"That's why you're so special to me baby. You've been with me through everything, all of my tantrums and outbursts, my shitty evil plots, through everything you've stuck with me. You don't know how much that means to me. How secure I finally feel." he said.

She kissed him, "I'm just so glad that I came here. I never gave up on you Adam. I was so sad and hurt that our babies might grow up without you."

He looked into her eyes again, "I'm back now and I promise I'm never going to leave you again."

She nodded solemnly, thankful she at least didn't have to worry about that anymore.

"We need to get ready to go to the show." he said, "You still wanted to go right?"

"I don't want to be locked up in the house anymore." she whined.

He smirked at her, "God, you're so cute."

They came downstairs later to find Ajay and Jay waiting for them.

"Wasn't sure if the two of you were going to break it up long enough to leave or not." Jay joked.

Aiden blushed furiously.

"Come on; let me help you to the car." Jay grinned at her.

"She's not yours Adam." Ajay said, feeling the sudden urge to remind him of that.

"She's mine for now and I plan on making the most of it." Adam answered her.

He went out to the garage without another word. Ajay sighed. All of this was becoming too much for her to handle.

* * *

At the arena, Adam was just as clingy with Aiden as he was at the house. She watched as he proudly introduced her to his coworkers, making small talk about being a father and showering Aiden with affection and attention. He was a totally different person when he was with her. Somewhere in the depths of her heart, she wished Aiden had bumped into her brother instead of Alex. They would have been perfect for each other.

When they returned back to the locker room Ajay instantly noticed how fatigued Aiden looked."Cookie, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." she answered, though she was anything but.

She hadn't felt good since breakfast but didn't want to worry anyone by complaining.

"I never realized how good you looked in your wrestling gear." Aiden commented as Adam put on his jacket.

He went to her and kissed her thoroughly, "I swear I can't get enough of you today."

She smiled weakly, feeling very strange all of a sudden.

"No time for that. We've got to get to the ring." Jay interrupted.

The four of them went to the gorilla position.

"You gonna cheer for me while I'm out there?" Adam wondered looking down at her.

She mustered up a smile, "Well I'm not going to cheer for that Dorito guy that's for sure."

They burst into laughter knowing she was referring to Alberto Del Rio.

"You're so cute." he smiled, "We'll be back."

He and Jay went to the curtain to wait for their cue.

"Please don't ever learn anything about wrestling okay?" Ajay said, wiping her eyes from laughing so hard.

"I'll be right back." Aiden said suddenly.

Ajay frowned watching her disappear into the bathroom. She turned back to the TV screen as her brothers went to the ring for a long awaited tag match together. She was really into the match which had already begun when Aiden returned as white as a ghost.

"I think we need to go." Aiden whispered shakily.

Ajay's stomach dropped to her feet, "Stay here. I'll get help."

Aiden nodded closing her eyes and trying to keep calm. This wasn't like the last time. This was no false alarm. The twins were coming this time whether they were ready or not.

* * *

**_Its about that time, don't you think? Predictions for who's going to freak out the most, lol!_**

**_Thanks so much to the wonderful, awesome peeps that reviewed: babygirlleahrox(sorry it took so long for me to get to this part!), Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, and xSamiliciousx. _**


	46. Labor Pains

**_Hope you enjoy kiddos :)_**

**_Sorry to A Midnight Vixen for being an impatient slut lol. I couldn't wait any longer to post this chapter :)_**

* * *

Adam and Jay came backstage triumphantly congratulating each other on a fantastic match. The fans were eating out of the palms of their hands.

"That was great!" Jay smiled, still hyped up.

"It's definitely been too long." Adam agreed with a smile of his own.

Randy came up to them, "You need to get your ass in gear, they're rushing Aiden to the hospital."

Adam lurched forward, fear making him clumsy. He was rushing to the locker room when he saw Ajay standing by the ambulance looking very scared. He tapped her on the shoulder making her spin around.

"Oh Adam, thank God you're just in time." she cried, "I can't ride with her; I would just make things worse. You go with her."

Jay ran up to him out of breath and tossed him a t-shirt he had gotten from the locker room, "We'll meet you there."

He pulled the shirt over his head and warily climbed into the back of the ambulance. Aiden smiled at him weakly though he could tell she was in pain.

"Hey kid, you alright?" he asked leaning forward with worry all over his face.

She shrugged gingerly, taking his hand as they pulled out of the arena. He had been on cloud nine the whole day, and now everything had come crashing down on him. He knew this day would come, he just kept wishing he could prepare better for it.

He looked over every square inch of her body looking for any sign of abnormality. He had sworn to himself that history would not repeat itself this time. He had done as much research as he could to prevent that from ever happening again.

"Are you scared?" he whispered as the EMT checked her blood pressure.

She saw the all too familiar look of fear in his face. It was the same helpless, scared to death look that Alex had when she had gone into labor with Lexie. To be honest she was petrified, but she knew she couldn't tell him that, so she lied.

"I'm fine." she smiled again through a minor contraction.

He nodded, seemingly buying her answer and thankful that she was okay. He knew there was going to be a time for him to worry, he was just glad it hadn't reared its ugly head yet.

* * *

"Ajay, it's going to be okay. We have plenty of time to get there." Jay admonished after his sister had smacked him or taking too long to get dressed.

"You don't know that! Stop arguing and hurry up!" she rushed him.

"Do you think that maybe we should call Alex and let him know?" Jay asked, hoping to avert her attention somehow.

They jumped in the car, Ajay making up her mind to call Alex.

* * *

"Wonder what they're doing?" Chris mused from the couch.

"I don't want to know probably." Alex muttered.

"I would appreciate it if both of you would refrain from thinking the worst about my grandson automatically." Gran glared at them.

"Adam has that effect on people." Chris griped.

"If I was him I know what I'd be doing. What better way to get back at me than to have sex with my wife again right?" Alex sighed.

Gran rose from her seat, "Both of you are hopeless."

Alex rolled his eyes, "She just knows I'm right."

"At least you can get back with Aiden. I don't know if Ajay will ever forgive me." Chris said sadly.

"She'll come around." Alex assured, perking up when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Do you think it's the girls?" Chris asked going back inside.

Alex felt his spirits rise for the first time in days. He walked briskly inside when he heard Lexie giggle excitedly. His stomach flipped when he saw Aiden's Nana, mother and father standing in the doorway. Daniel Carlton, a bear of a man, had his eyes trained on his son-in-law. If anyone could put the fear of God into Alex it was Aiden's father. He commanded that respect when he entered a room.

"Dan, this is Ajay's grandmother Edna." Caroline introduced having just met her.

"Pleasure to meet you. Alan, we need to have a talk if you'll join me outside." he said focusing back on his son-in-law, "Why don't you join us Curtis?"

Chris felt a lump of fear rise from his stomach from being addressed by him.

Daniel closed the patio door behind him, giving the boys a deceptive smile, "I had the strangest series of events happen recently and I can't figure out why they happened. I don't like not having any answers when it comes to my baby."

Alex and Chris shifted nervously and glanced at each other.

"One of you might want to locate your vocal chords before I do it for you." Daniel threatened, "Why did my very pregnant daughter drop Lexie off and then jet down to Florida? Why did Ajay come chasing after her? And why the hell did no one tell us she was pregnant again?"

Alex sighed, his entire body drooped, "Aiden is having Ajay's brother's twins. They got together when we separated for awhile. She found out they were his after she took me back."

Daniel had grown dangerously still, "Why was she running to him if she was back with you?"

"Alex was trying to get Adam out of the picture. Adam's not the right guy for Aiden. He forced her to get pregnant by switching her pills up and he was trying to break up her marriage to Alex on top of that." Chris blurted out.

Alex's phone rang saving them from Daniel's inevitable blow up, "Its Ajay…hello?"

"Lex, you've got to come down here, Aiden is going into labor." she cried.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I'm scared for her. Really scared." Ajay sniffled.

"I'm coming okay, remember what I told you to look for, the signs that she shows when she's struggling. Take care of her until I get there okay?" Alex instructed before hanging up, "We've got to go, they're taking Aiden to the hospital to have the twins."

Chris and Alex went to the door to hurry and get ready to leave.

"I want you and Curtis to fill me in on this Adam character and why the hell he's involved with my Sunshine."

* * *

"Are you feeling okay?' Adam ventured to ask as they were helping Aiden into a wheel chair.

She smiled at him, "It's not too bad yet, so you can stop fidgeting so much."

He nodded nervously.

Ajay and Jay caught up to them as they were getting checked in.

"Cookie…we're right here, what was your blood pressure…your pulse…you look a little pale." Ajay rambled, tears streaming down her face.

Aiden took her hand to assure her, "Don't worry yet okay? I'm okay right now, I'm actually pretty mellow which is where I need to be, so don't worry okay?"

"I promised Alex I would take care of you." she said quietly.

Aiden grimaced at a contraction, "Adam won't let anything happen to us."

The siblings looked at their brother who was smiling proudly, "I can do this Ash, I promise I'll be there for her and won't let anything happen to her."

Jay pulled him into a hug, "I'm proud of you Adam."

"We're ready for you Mrs. Martin." A nurse said, "You can follow me."

Ajay grabbed Jay's hand as they went down the hall with Aiden and Adam. After an elevator ride they reached their destination.

"What is this?" Jay asked when they stepped into the room.

"It's the best water birth facility in Florida. This is what Aiden wanted to do." Adam answered.

"Cookie are you sure?" Ajay blanched.

"I'm sure. I've done my research and have talked with Dr. Thomas extensively about it. This is what Adam and I want to do." she said.

"We'll get her settled and show you to the room she'll be in after the delivery. There is a closed circuit station where you can watch her progress if you all feel comfortable with that." the nurse explained.

"Can I stay with her for a little while longer?" Ajay asked.

"Sure, she'll probably need help getting changed while I get the pool ready." she smiled warmly.

Ajay turned to Aiden after Jay left the room to help her take her clothes off.

"Why are you crying?" Aiden laughed.

Ajay looked at her with tears in her eyes, "I just can't believe we're here finally and that Adam's here, and that I'm going to be an aunt."

"You're supposed to be happy about this Bug." Adam pointed out as he fixed the back of Aiden's bandeau top.

"I am. I'm just a little overwhelmed that's all, and hormonal." she laughed as she wiped her eyes, "Are you going to let us watch from your room?"

"That's up to her." he said taking his swim trunks from his bag.

"I will if you promise me that you won't let anyone in here. I only want me and Adam to be in here for this. I can't have any distractions." Aiden bargained.

Ajay nodded, "I promise. No one will be allowed in here, I'll make sure of it."

Aiden pulled her in for a hug, "Thank you. I'll see you later."

Ajay started crying again as she pulled away and hugged her brother too. She blew them a kiss before she left the room.

Adam leaned down to kiss Aiden, "You ready to do this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

**TWO HOURS LATER**

* * *

"Ajay! Are we too late? Where is Aiden at?" Alex asked rushing into the room.

"She's doing okay so far, see?" Ajay pointed at the TV. screen.

Adam was holding Aiden in his lap, running his hands over her belly.

"What the _fuck_ is she doing in that thing!" he exploded.

"Alex!" Caroline scolded, looking down at Lexie.

Alex stepped closer to Ajay, "He really is trying to kill her isn't he? Where is he? Where are they at?"

Jay came between them, "Aiden made this decision too, you can't just blame all of this on Adam. We've been watching her progress and the pool method really seems to be working."

"What is wrong with all of you? Aiden needs skilled professional doctors; she needs medicine and high tech equipment to monitor her, not some fucking lukewarm kiddie pool!" Alex spazed out.

"Let's take a walk so you can cool down some." Daniel suggested steering the younger man back to the door.

Ajay went to Joey and Kenzie to hug and kiss them. She ignored Chris completely seeing the hopeful look on his face from where he stood a few feet away.

"How is Adam doing with everything? Is he holding up okay too?" Edna wondered still looking at the screen.

"He's doing great, he's really helping Aiden stay calm and focused." Jay answered.

"It's the least he could do considering what he did to get her here in the first place." Nana muttered loud enough for them to hear.

The Reso/Harter family all looked at each other feeling the divide in the room growing between the two families. Alex and Daniel returned several minutes later looking just as furious as when they left. The hours crawled by with little to no progress; updates were coming slower and slower on Aiden and the babies. Tensions were running high and patience was wearing thin.

Adam tried to comfort Aiden as well as he could through a rather intense contraction.

She had her face pressed into this neck whimpering, "Oh God, this one hurts."

"You're doing great babe." he assured her.

She doubled over in agony just before the contraction stopped.

"You're so tense honey, you've got to loosen up some." he frowned massaging her shoulders.

She turned in his lap to where she was facing him and fell into his arms crying.

"I suck at this." She cried.

"So do I, there's nothing I can do to help you." he said sadly.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." she whined, squeezing him to numb the dull pain.

He shook his head, "No, this is going to work. We'll get through it."

He wasn't exactly sure where that confidence had come from. Maybe if he kept a positive attitude everything would work out for the best.

* * *

"It's been eight hours since she was checked in, why hasn't she had them yet? She hasn't even gotten her epidural yet! Are you people insane? Can you not see that the stupid fucking bath tub isn't working?" Alex berated an unlucky nurse who had walked by.

"Sir, I just got on shift, I don't know the status of any of the patients yet." the woman sad.

"You go find your boss and tell them to get her the **HELL** out of there! And if that doesn't work, you go find your bosses boss! I want her out of there **NOW**!" he ordered.

"It's not her fault Alex." Caroline tried to calm him down.

He laughed lewdly, "No its not, everything is _HIS_ fault…all of this!"

"That's not going to help anything Alex. It's too damn early in the morning for you to start shit." Jay groaned.

"Watching her suffer because of him makes me physically ill and unlike you, I'm not okay with it!" Alex countered losing his cool finally.

"She's in labor, that's painful for everyone. Adam can't give her the epidural himself." Ajay argued.

"He talked her into this; he should talk her out of it! She's barely hanging on as it is!" Alex shrieked.

"Don't yell at her alright?" Chris defended her.

She narrowed her eyes at her husband knowing he was trying to get back into her good graces. Before anyone could say anything else the TV screen went black. The entire room seized up and held their collective breath.

Alex curled into himself, fear of the unknown gripping him, "_What the fuck is going on_?"

"Adam?" Ajay gasped seeing her brother slowly stumble into the room as white as a sheet.

"Son, what's wrong? Did she have the babies?" Gran asked.

"What is happening to my baby?" Caroline begged.

"She can't do it…she was struggling to stay awake, to stay conscious." he said quietly.

"Oh God, not again." Ajay whimpered.

"It's my fault, she's so scared and it's because of me. They're getting her ready for surgery now." he cried.

Gran pulled him into her arms to comfort him.

Adam was beside himself with grief, "This is all my fault. If something happens to her, I swear I don't think I can handle it."

"If something happens to her I'll kill you myself." Alex threatened being held back by Daniel.

"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. She should have never been in there suffering like she did." Adam admitted, "She asked for you to be with her during her surgery."

The relief on Alex's face was totally evident. He would have gone stark raving mad had he not been able to be with Aiden.

"Then let's go! Take me to her now!" Alex urged desperately.

"Alex…" Daniel called out.

The younger man turned around in shock. It was the first time Aiden's father had ever called him by his correct name. He looked back at the expectant faces of her family, hearing their silent prayer.

"I won't let anything happen to her." he promised.

Daniel nodded, satisfied with his answer as he hugged his wife and mother in law to him. Alex followed Adam to get prepped to accompany Aiden.

"When we get in there, my main focus is going to be on Aiden. You worry about the twins, leave her to me. This is out of your league now, got it." Alex said in a low voice.

Adam nodded slowly, his eyes red with more tears, "She's going to make it...right?"

The weighted question hung between them for what seemed like an eternity.

Alex chewed on his lip, "I can't make any promises."

* * *

**_OMG...seriously...babies are coming next chapter I SWEAR...if you review lol!_**

**_Thanks to my favorites: babygirlleahrox, xSamiliciousx, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight!_**


	47. Not Good News

**_Hope you enjoy! As always thanks to A Midnight Vixen for being awesome!_**

**_*This chapter is kind of descriptive about the surgery, so sorry if that bothers you.*_**

* * *

"I'm so glad he finally went to sleep." Ajay sighed looking at her son, "My head is killing me."

Edna covered Joey up, "You could use some sleep too you know."

Ajay covered her face with her hands, "How can I sleep with Aiden in surgery? I swear this is like a recurring nightmare."

"We have to stay positive sweetheart." Gran reminded her gently.

"I just know how scared she is right now because I feel the same way." Ajay cried.

"You're not the only one baby." she said looking across the room at Chris.

Her heart broke when she looked at him. He had Kenzie in his arms who was sound asleep. The expression on his face killed her. He was trying to hide the fact that he was crying. He had his hoodie up trying to cover his face but would wipe his eyes on his sleeve every now and then. She got up and crossed the room.

He saw her coming and tried to act normal, "Did you need anything babe? Something to eat or drink?"

She choked back a sob, "I need you Chris."

He looked up at her, his eyes even bluer from crying.

"I need you too baby."

He stood up, laid Kenzie next to Joey, and went back to her. She fell into his arms, letting her emotions go completely. He sat back down, holding her tightly, crying just as hard as she was.

"I love you Ajay. I'm so sorry for hurting you." he hiccupped.

She shook her head, "I'm not whole without you Chris, you know that."

He nodded sadly, "I feel the same way. I'm never going anywhere, I swear."

Ajay cupped his face, "You don't have to hide the fact that you're worried about her."

Chris pulled away from her, "No, I'm not hurting you anymore. Alex is taking care of her. I have to just trust and rely on that."

She took his face in her hands again, "I'm scared for her too. Please don't shut me out about your feelings for her. I want you to include me so we can help each other through this. She's my friend too."

Chris rested his head on her shoulder, "I feel so sick from having to watch her in all that pain and I know she's terrified. I want everything to be over with. I want to see that she's okay."

"Me too." Ajay murmured closing her eyes.

* * *

Alex hesitantly stepped into the operating room the whole situation hitting him all at once. He was back here again, the same ball of fear in the pit of his stomach. He was finding it hard to breathe as the terrible experience came rushing back at him. Everything was the same, the sterile almost nauseating smell, the too bright lights, the sound of metal tools clinking and nurses murmuring, Aiden crying.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Alex looked over at Adam who was just as scared as he was.

"A lot of bad memories…" Alex said in a hushed tone before going to Aiden's side, "Hey pretty girl."

"Alex." She gasped in relief.

She clung to him weakly as she continued to weep.

"I-I d-don't want to d-do t-this." she stammered in between hiccups and huffs of air.

"Shh, shhh sweetheart, I'm right here and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." he hushed her.

"N-N-No I c-can't. She told him desperately as they raised the divider, "Alex p-p-please!"

He blinked the tears away as he watched her beg for her life.

He kissed her gently, "You've got to do this for the babies. Aren't you excited to meet them?"

She nodded slowly.

"We're ready to begin, okay Aiden? You just stay still and relax for us. I'll make sure to let you know when you're going to feel my pressure." the doctor said trying to reassure her, "Can you feel that?"

Aiden shook her head as she started trembling uncontrollably.

"Okay here we go let's meet these babies." the doctor smiled.

Alex took her hand while Adam took the other.

"Keep your eyes on me baby. You stay with me okay?" Alex almost begged her.

"Holy shit." Adam muttered watching the doctor start the incision.

Aiden whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the familiar 'unzipped' feeling as the doctor cut into her stomach.

"Open your eyes baby. Look at me, don't leave me." Alex continued to talk to her.

"Alex…" she cried desperately to him.

He smoothed her hair back never losing focus of her.

"Oh fuck…holy shit…this is fucking insane…" Adam mumbled as he continued to watch the process, his hand coming up to cover his mouth, "Jesus Christ, you're cutting her again?"

Aiden tried to stifle her sob unsuccessfully.

"Adam. Shut. Up." Alex warned dangerously.

He looked down at Aiden who had her face buried in Alex's neck, seemingly just remembering where he was.

"I'm sorry but…" he pointed over the divider, "This shit is crazy! She should have stayed her ass in the pool."

"Will you just shut the fuck up already? Shut the fuck up right now." Alex hissed.

"Okay, you're going to feel a lot of pressure in just a minute and we'll have baby number one. Ready, one, two, three…" the doctor announced.

Aiden bared her teeth feeling the tremendous pressure he had warned her of. She cried out when it was over, knowing her first child with Adam was born.

Adam squeezed her hand, "Oh wow Aiden, our boy is here, he's right there just like that."

He stood there dazed as his son cried out for the first time. It was the single greatest sound he had ever heard in his life. A nurse handed him surgical scissors to cut the cord as they continued working to clean him off.

"One more time Aiden, you're doing great." the doctor encouraged her.

"Oh God, I can't do it again." she whimpered trying to catch her breath.

"You can do it baby. It will all be over with soon. Stay calm for me." Alex coached sensing her becoming frantic.

"Lots of pressure one more time." the doctor said.

She screamed from the sudden pressure not having time to prepare herself for it. She let go of Adam's hand as she leaned further into Alex to cry on his shoulder. Another gargled wail filled the room as their daughter was born. Adam wiped his eyes as he saw his little girl for the first time.

"Cut right here again Daddy." the nurse smiled.

Adam cut through the cord again and started to see spots.

"This is the best day of my life." he said before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backwards.

"Fucking amateur." Alex seethed under his breath.

He sincerely hoped Adam landed on the scissors and severed an artery for keeping her in the pool for so long. He focused his attention back on Aiden who he saw could barely keep her eyes open. His heart lost its rhythm the longer he watched her fade.

"Aiden, talk to me honey. Don't go to sleep just yet…umm, tell me the babies' names." he tried desperately to keep her attention, "If you fall asleep I'm going to name them both after me. Alexander and Alexandria sounds good to me babe. How about Patrick and Patricia?"

She was blinking slower and slower at him and did not respond otherwise.

"Will somebody please help my wife?" he begged.

* * *

"If I don't hear something in the next five minutes about my baby somebody is getting their ass chewed out!" Nana threatened being fed up with the long wait.

"She should be out by now, right Gran? It usually doesn't take this long does it?" Ajay asked fearfully from Chris' lap.

Gran patted her hand, "Everyone is different. There isn't a certain time limit dear."

"They're probably just being extra cautious Bug." Jay chimed in.

A few minutes later two nurses wheeled Adam into the room on a bed.

Ajay started laughing and held her hand out to Jay, "Pay up. I told you he would pass out."

"Adam are you okay?" Gran worried going immediately to his side.

He still looked a little green, "Yeah…last thing I remember was cutting the cord and being so happy and then the lights went out." he recanted, "They're just giving me fluids as a precaution."

"What about Aiden?" Daniel almost barked.

He really could care less how Adam was feeling.

Adam's face darkened, "I'm not really sure, I was focused on the twins, that's what Alex and I agreed on. I know she was uncomfortable and tired. That's all I know."

"Well where are the babies at? When can we see them?" Ajay asked.

"They should be in the nursery. They're so cute and small." he smiled just thinking about them.

Ajay took off out of the room, both families following her. They all peered into the nursery window.

"Do you see them?" Caroline asked.

"I can't read the name tags." Chris squinted.

"Let this nosy old bitch through and I'll tell ya." Nana ordered swatting and shoving people out of her way.

She got to the front and pulled her binoculars out of her purse.

"Hmmm…Nelson, Smith, some name I can't pronounce, Brady, another name I can't pronounce, Anthony, Caulder…they're not in there." Nana confirmed.

"Look! There they are!" Jay exclaimed like he had found Waldo.

The nurse wheeled the bassinet closest to the window when she saw the crowd waiting. Both babies were swaddled snugly one with a blue cap on and the other with a pink one on.

"Oh my goodness, look at them." Ajay cried hugging Chris as she stared at her niece and nephew.

Jay put his arm around Gran who was crying as well.

"They're adorable." Caroline sniffled, "Look at that white blonde hair peeking out."

Nana raised her binoculars back up, "Just Copeland for the names…damnit, and the boy weighs eight pounds seven ounces and the girl weighs seven pounds eight ounces. Yep, those are Aiden's babies, only she could have them that organized already."

Everybody laughed except for Daniel who was still worried about his daughter.

"I'm going to go ask about Sunshine again." he mumbled to Caroline.

"I love babies so much. They're so cute! Baby boy looks like Aiden, he's got her nose and lips, and baby girl has Adam's." Ajay gushed, "I want to hold them so bad!"

"Take it easy psycho." Jay teased earning a slap from his sister.

Chris put his arms around her neck, "Our baby will be here soon enough and you can spoil it all you want."

Ajay looked longingly back at the twins, "I can always practice with them though. They are my niece and nephew after all."

Daniel came back looking very annoyed and frustrated, "Nobody knows anything in this damn hospital."

Everyone's elation over seeing the twins for the first time had made them forget their worry about Aiden.

"There's Alex, surely he knows something." Caroline pointed out.

The look on his face, the way he was walking gave away the news.

Chris shook his head, his eyes welling up, "Alex, don't tell us any bad news about her."

He blew out a breath and frowned, "Its not exactly good news guys."

* * *

**_Dun, dun, dunnnn! lol Go ahead and review and tell me how much you hate these cliff hangers :) you know you want to!_**

**_Thanks to all of the hotties who reviewed last chapter: Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, and littlemisssunshinexx!_**


	48. Lean On Me

**_A BIG thank you to Midnight Vixen for being such an awesome beta!_**

* * *

Ajay put a hand over her mouth and swallowed audibly, "Please don't say that Alex."

He took a deep breath trying to work out how to tell them, "She's under observation right now. Her being conscious for the c-section threw her for a loop."

"What does that mean?" Chris croaked out.

"She's stable at the moment, but that could change any minute, especially when her epidural wears off." Alex explained.

"Can we see her?" Daniel asked.

Alex shook his head regretfully, "They aren't going to let anyone in just yet. She asked me to check on the twins."

Ajay clung to Chris, "But you _swear_ she's okay?"

He tore his dark eyes away from the infants to look at his friend, "For now. We have to pray she can handle the pain."

Nana nodded at him, "Keep doing what you're doing. You got her through the worst part so far."

Alex afforded her a half smile before turning to leave. Both families were dealing with the news when Joey walked over to his mother. Jay nudged his sister who looked down at the little boy.

His lip poked out as his head dropped, "You said A-Ten was okay."

"Joey, Uncle Alex is taking very good care of her. She's just tired right now. Remember how tired Mommy was with Kenzie?" Chris asked kneeling down to him.

He shrugged, "Are those her babies?"

Chris nodded, not pressing the change of subject. He raised his arms to be lifted up. Chris went to the glass as Joey peered down into the bassinet.

"What do you think Joey?" Ajay asked softly.

He pointed at the glass, "That one looks like me."

Ajay's eyes went wide hearing him say that.

She bit her lip, "Yeah a little bit. Why don't you and Uncle Jay go grab a snack okay?"

He hopped over to Jay who gave his sister a knowing look.

"What are we going to do if he ever figures out that they are his half brother and sister?" she asked fearfully.

"We'll deal with it babe. We can't worry about that now though." Chris assured her.

"Mollie?" Ajay's brow furrowed seeing her friend walk in, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard she had the twins." she said flippantly.

Mollie's mood could almost be felt as she stood in the middle of the hall.

"That's nice of you to bring her flowers." Chris commented.

Mollie scoffed, "These aren't for her. I came to see Adam."

Chris bit his temper back, "Why?"

Mollie gestured around to everyone in the hall, "Because I'm sure none of you are all that concerned about him and I figured it might be nice to have a friend that understands how he feels."

"That's not true. He's my brother if you'll recall." Ajay argued.

"Who you kicked to the curb the second he came clean about deceiving Aiden. Everyone is disposable when it comes to her…_right Chris_?" Mollie shot back, not being intimidated by them, "I'll just go find his room."

It blew her mind how something so obvious to her slipped past all of them. They were all out here in the hall not at all concerned about how Adam was handling things. He needed their support just as much as 'Pretty Princess Aiden' did.

She passed by Aiden's family feeling the heated glares.

"Hateful skank." Nana muttered as she past.

Mollie turned to glare at the older woman.

"Did I stutter bitch?" Nana asked, louder this time.

Caroline grabbed her shoulder, "Stop it. Not here."

Mollie smiled darkly as she made her way to the nurse's desk. She didn't give a shit how many people loved 'Saint Aiden', she saw right through the bitch and wasn't having any of it, no matter how many enemies it made her. The nurse gave her Adam's room number. She smiled to herself as she went into his room.

"Hey daddy." she greeted.

He chuckled and turned off the TV, "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to come and see you that's all." she shrugged.

"Those for Aiden?"

She sighed angrily, "No they're for you actually."

He pulled her to sit on the bed, "You promised you would try to be nice."

She ran a hand through his hair, "This _is_ me being nice."

"Moll, we talked about this, remember, you're being nice for _me_, not for her." he chastised.

She looked like a petulant child, "I can't stand that everyone ostracizes you and flocks to her. They're your babies too. Its just not fair."

He brought her hand up to kiss the back of it, "What I did wasn't fair, you said so yourself. I appreciate you taking up for me, I do, but I don't want you in the middle of it. And I definitely don't want you arguing with Aiden about it, okay?"

"I'm not just going to do what you say; I'm not her you know." Mollie argued.

"How could I forget?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes…he had _better_ not forget.

"Anyways, did she fare better during the whole ordeal this time? She's not in another coma is she?" she asked in an off tone.

"The whole thing was crazy! I saw all of her, like blood, guts, everything. I fucking cracked my head when I passed out too, feel it." he said, placing her hand on the knot on his head.

Mollie gasped sarcastically, "Good thing its caveman hard or it might have been much worse."

"Get the hell out of my room." he laughed.

"Mr. Copeland, we have two little visitors for you." a nurse said, wheeling the bassinet into the room.

He sat up nervously, "Wow…um okay."

Mollie watched him fidget and thought it was adorable.

"Here are their bottles, you can feed them whenever you like." she smiled leaving the room again.

He pulled his hair behind his ears, "So uhh…do I pick them both up? They're sleeping, are they going to cry?"

She laughed softly, "Calm down, I'll help you. I happen to be an expert with babies."

"Well that makes exactly one of us" he said, his voice quivering.

Mollie carefully picked the little girl up talking softly to her when she squirmed slightly.

"Here, put your arms like this, her head will go right there, make sure you support it okay?" she explained gently maneuvering the baby into his arms.

"I can't breathe." he choked out, fighting tears as he looked down at his daughter.

"You're doing great." Mollie encouraged, "Here try her bottle."

"God, I feel like I'm going to break her. Why don't you take her back?" he begged.

"Relax, she's right where she needs to be." she smiled, handing him the bottle.

He carefully held it up to her mouth almost fainting again when the little baby came to life and began eating.

He was in awe, "How do you know how to do that?"

"Their Mommy's a genius remember?" Mollie teased sitting on the bed to feed the little boy, "So do they have names yet?"

"Yeah." he answered, still completely focused on his daughter.

"You want me to guess?" she questioned with a laugh.

He looked up at her with a glare, "You're holding Rhett Ashton, and this is Anabelle Jade."

Mollie groaned, "Ughh! She always picks out the best names."

"I helped." he pouted.

"They're gonna go ape shit when they hear their cute little names for her cute little babies." she predicted, smiling down at baby Rhett.

"Don't." Adam said quietly.

"Don't what?" she asked looking up.

"Don't curse in front of them, especially Anabelle." he asked even quieter.

Mollie smirked, "I think I like this new you in 'daddy mode'."

They sat in silence feeding the babies. When they were done eating, Adam and Mollie carefully returned them to the basinet.

Adam was holding her as they sat on the edge of the bed watching them sleep, "I've never felt like this before."

She rested her head on his shoulder, "Felt like what?"

He sighed, "Calm, scared, happy and sad, I don't know how to explain it."

"I get it." she whispered.

"I'm thankful that you're here too. I was thinking too much in here all by myself." he looked down at her, "Guess everybody is worried about Aiden."

Mollie shook her head in disappointment. She was glad that she had made up her mind to come and see him, she knew how it felt to be ganged up on against Aiden's bodyguards.

Her hand went to his jaw as she sat up to kiss him. Of all the passionate intense moments they had shared, they paled in comparison to this sudden tenderness. All of the other moment's lacked substance; this one was tangible and carried weight with them both.

"I almost saw this coming"

Mollie and Adam pushed apart hearing Alex's voice. He was leaning against the doorframe and one could almost see the devil horns sprout from the top of his head. Mollie could feel the heat all over her face, the pure embarrassment of having been caught by Alex of all damn people.

"Mollie Jarrett I do believe I need to have a word with you." Alex mocked her Southern accent.

She raised her chin a notch determined not to give him the upper hand. She'd argued with his ass on several occasions, only this time, _she_ was the one getting caught instead of _him_.

"After you." he winked.

She hissed at him as she walked by. He hadn't won anything yet. Either he could wipe that damn smirk off his face or she'd smack it off for him.

* * *

**_That should be fun huh? What did you think of the babies' names? Review and let me know!_**

**_*Thanks to AliceJericho, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, xSamiliciousx, babygirlleahrox, littlemisssunshinexx, Sarcastic Nightmare*_**

**_xoxo_**


	49. You Again?

_**Thanks to my wonderful beta A Midnight Vixen! She's awesome as a beta and a writer so go check her out!**_

_**Now...on to the next one :)**_

* * *

"So you and dip shit are an item huh?" Alex began as they stepped out into the muggy air.

"Go to hell." she snapped.

"Save me a seat." he quipped, "How long have you two been together?"

"You're so immature. It's actually none of your business asshole." she smirked knowing he hated it when she was evasive.

"This directly involves my wife and her children so actually it does." he replied.

"Here we go with the 'my wife' bullshit." Mollie rolled her eyes.

"She obviously doesn't know that Adam's with you and yeah that worries me more than a little bit to be honest, and I think you know why. "He narrowed his gaze at her.

"I didn't come here to upset her; it's not all about her _Patrick_. I came to support Adam because I knew no one else would. I wasn't wrong either, nobody was there to help him with the babies." she said crossing her arms.

He shook his head, "What are you doing Moll?"

She laughed, "Not being hung up on you anymore. What do you care?"

He frowned, "I do care about you, I always will. Which is why I really don't like you being with him. He's trouble Mollie, you deserve better than that."

"Says the guy who was nothing but for me. I get him and he gets me. We're both on opposite sides of 'your wife' and we've bonded over that." she shrugged.

"He loves her. Do you really think it's a good idea to base your relationship on your shared resentment of Aiden?" he asked.

"It's not just her, its you too. We both can't stand you either." she spat.

"You don't mean that." he stated quietly.

"Why not? I loved you with everything I had and you broke my heart on several occasions. You stole Aiden back from Adam right as she was falling in love with him. You're a walking tornado Alex. You do nothing but leave destruction behind you everywhere you go." she shouted.

"Didn't realize you hated me that much." he muttered.

She shook her head at him as her eyes filled with tears, "Don't care about me now. Don't be the sweet and sensitive guy that I know you are deep down inside. Only _she_ gets to see that side of you now."

He cupped her face to look in her eyes, "I've always cared about you Moll. The last thing I want is to see you hurt or to cause you pain. I know I was a total asshole to you and I truly am sorry for that, but don't get with Adam because of it. You're not going to benefit from that."

"There's something there though. We have fun together; he's a lot like you with his cocky attitude and then this sweet thoughtful side of him when we're together. Its very endearing to be treated like a queen when we're together. Of course now he's got the twins to take care of and raise; he's going to need help with that." she explained.

Alex sighed and let her go, "You know Aiden won't like that Moll. You're going to step on her toes by involving yourself with the babies and who knows what problems that will cause. She can't be stressed out, you _know_ that."

Mollie laughed as more tears fell.

She swung her open palm at his face connecting sharply, "You fucking liar! You don't care about my relationship with Adam; all you want to do is protect Aiden. I should have fucking known!"

His jaw flexed in anger, "You know, I actually _was_ worried about you being with him, but if you're that intent on fucking up your life then go right ahead. I was trying to be nice but you're right, protecting Aiden will always be my number one priority."

She laughed in his face, "I learned a long time ago that you never cared about me. I'm not naïve about your bullshit anymore. One more thing, don't _you_ step on Adam's toes anymore with those babies. He's their father and I swear to God if you do anything to sabotage his relationship with them, you'll wish you hadn't. I can be your worst enemy don't forget that."

He caught her arm and twisted her to face him roughly, "Stay away from Aiden. When it comes to her you know I won't stop at anything to make you suffer."

"Fuck you Alex and your stupid threats." she snarled, "You play nice and so will I, but she's going to find out eventually. Her feelings and needs don't mean shit to me. I don't live in 'Aiden Land' like the rest of you idiots."

Alex closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists at his side.

He could strangle that girl sometimes. He really wasn't a violent person but she made him almost relish in it. He could almost feel his hands closing around her throat sometimes. He knew she felt the same way too. She'd informed him on several occasions how badly she wanted to castrate him. That was the reason they were not together. They were both too hot headed. There was too much history and bad blood between them. It was too easy for them to piss each other off in the worst way.

He opened his eyes only to see Mollie disappearing back into the hospital. He hated that bitch most days, especially when Aiden was caught in the middle of their spats...which was usually all the time.

He jogged to catch up to her, sending a quick prayer up to the 'Big Guy' that Mollie could keep her giant mouth closed and her temper on a short leash.

God performed miracles right?

* * *

Adam sat on the side of his bed staring blankly down at his two children. He hadn't moved a muscle since Mollie had left. He had about a million thoughts running through his head as he stared down at his twins. He pictured their first steps, their first words, their first birthday, their first bike ride…it was all so much take in and fathom. The way his life was now, he was going to miss the majority of those firsts. He would have to watch videos of those precious moments and pretend that it didn't kill him inside.

Were they going to be confused about his and Alex's roles? Would they call him "daddy" or Adam like Joey does?

He looked up when they door opened. His heart thudded to a stop as they wheeled Aiden in. She looked terrible, like she was in complete agony. Both nurses set up the small army of machines she was attached to and pulled the blankets up to her trembling chin.

"We'll be back to check on you in an hour. If you need us before then just press this button."

Aiden managed a small nod as tears fell down her face.

Adam went to her bedside, "Hey baby. I'm so glad to finally see you. You did it, you had the babies and nothing went wrong."

Her brow furrowed as she nodded again.

"That's pretty funny coming from you." Nana said as both families came into the room.

He sat back on his bed, watching as Aiden's family came in and stood over her. He would be lying if he said he was comfortable with them there. He had yet to explain himself to them, not that he had a very good explanation, but the anticipation of that conversation was definitely an elephant in the room.

"Hey there Sunshine." Daniel greeted quietly.

He turned into a huge teddy bear when he smiled at his daughter.

Aiden squeezed her eyes shut as the waves of pain continued to roll through her.

"Oh Aiden, I'm so glad they brought you out." Ajay gushed as she came in the room, "See Joey, A-Ten's okay."

Jay shook his head at his sister, seeing how out of it Aiden still was. Joey didn't need to see that, it would only upset him more.

"We're going to walk down to the gift shop and pick something out for the babies." he said creating a diversion for Joey.

Ajay's excitement quickly faded when she saw how pitiful Aiden looked.

"I hurt so bad. I'm in pain everywhere." she whimpered softly, "I think I'm going to be sick."

Adam was more than a little concerned as he looked around the room, "Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"I wish you would have hit your head a little harder." Nana commented.

"Can you stop with the smart comments? They're unecessary and are really pissing me off." Gran snapped.

"I'm at least ten years older than you so that means I outrank you and can say whatever the hell I want." Nana came back.

"Both of you shut up, arguing isn't going to help anything. Aiden has to stay calm and relax." Chris spoke up.

"Is there anything we can do sweetheart?" Caroline frowned at her daughter.

Aiden shook her head, "I want to see the twins."

Adam pushed the bassinet closer to the bed, "Who do you want first?"

"Could you maybe hold them up so I don't have to move?" she asked with a wince.

He took a shaky breath and carefully picked up his son, "Say hi to Mommy. Maybe you can make her feel a little better."

Aiden smiled, "Alex said he looked like me."

"Well what is his name?" Gran asked.

Adam looked over at his sister with a warm smile, "We named him Rhett Ashton Copeland."

"You're going to make me cry! That's so cool!" Ajay exclaimed wiping her eyes, "Thank you."

"And who is this?" Chris asked bringing the little girl to Aiden.

"This is Anabelle Jade Copeland." Aiden announced softly running her fingertip across her daughter's cheek.

"Beautiful names for beautiful babies." Gran said tearing up.

She could almost burst with pride and happiness. She had two new healthy great grand babies with another one due soon, and most of all Adam was being a wonderful father. She could tell he was still tentative but with Aiden's help that would go away. She was thankful that he was making an attempt and not letting the animosity from her family get the best of him.

"Why don't you try to get some rest Ai?" Chris suggested, seeing her eyes getting heavy.

"I'm fine." she sighed.

"We'll leave honey, you look exhausted." Caroline said standing up to adjust he covers.

Aiden grabbed her father's hand, "Don't go. I _am_ tired, I'm just….afraid to fall asleep."

She looked down at the blankets, embarrassed she had admitted that aloud.

"We won't leave you." Chris promised.

Aiden looked up to thank him when Mollie returned with Alex who looked none too happy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Aiden glared.

* * *

**_Ahhh...Aiden vs Mollie...again :) This should be good huh? Aiden has a lot more to fight for Mollie might have to watch out this go round! _**

**_Go ahead, hit the review button, I don't mind._**

**_*Thanks to SBMFanatic, xSamiliciousx, AliceJericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for their reviews*_**


	50. We've Got A Problem

**_Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy this one._**

* * *

Mollie smirked feeling all eyes turn to her; ninety-nine percent of them were daring her to step out of line.

"Just came to see the babies and to make sure you didn't up and die on us again." she smiled sweetly.

Half of the room gasped at her callous remark. Chris grabbed her by the arm to escort her outside.

"Get your hands off me Josh." she snapped, "She asked me a question and I answered it."

"You're way out of line." Jay admonished.

"She should go before she hurts Aiden." Caroline frowned, "Even more than she already has."

Mollie kept the smirk on her face but Adam could tell she was hurting inside. After all, who really enjoyed being talked down to, and made to be an outcast?

Adam stood up, "Let's go outside and give them a minute."

Aiden wiped at her eyes, "She is so _hateful_ for no reason."

Alex kissed her temple, "Don't let her get to you babe."

If Mollie were a dude, he would have decked her. He would never understand why she liked to push buttons so much. It was almost like she got off on it.

"Don't even bring up her name sweetheart. We're here for you and these sweet little babies." Nana said.

"You look so tired, are you sure you don't want to try to sleep for a little bit?" Chris asked again.

Aiden wet her lips as more tears welled up.

"We'll wake you up honey. Chris is right, you do need to rest." Caroline assured.

Aiden leaned back looking fearfully over at Alex who kissed the back of her hand. She blinked a few times before she was out cold.

Chris sat down next to Ajay. He was still holding Anabelle, as Ajay cradled Rhett.

Gran noticed the look on her face, "What's wrong Ashton?"

"What are we going to do when Joey figures all of this out?" She asked softly.

"He won't. Nobody is going to tell him." Chris argued.

"He's going to figure it out. He already said something about them looking like him. I know how I would feel if I found out my parents chose a different family over Jay and me. He is going to be devastated.

"I think he would understand when you explain everything to him." Caroline commented softly.

Ajay's lip trembled as she looked down at the twins, "They're so lucky to have Aiden as their mom. They'll never have to go through what he did."

"Despite how they got here, she really did change Adam for the better." Gran smiled at Aiden's sleeping form, "You really raised her up to be a wonderful person."

"How she got with someone like him is beyond me." Daniel spoke up gruffly.

"Adam's not a bad guy." Ajay defended her brother, sitting there thinking about Joey got her in a defensive mood.

"Yeah, you're right, he didn't leave Joey with his psychopathic mother, he didn't lie to you about it, he didn't switch Aiden's medicine around to get her pregnant on purpose. He's a _great_ guy." Nana retorted.

Gran stood up, "Whether you like it or not he is their father, and he's stepping up to be with them and Aiden. He loves them more than you can fathom, and I'm sick and tired of al of you speaking ill of him. He's my grandson and if you don't want to respect him, then respect me and kindly shut the fuck up."

"You just keep him away from Sunshine. I heard he's a clumsy son of a bitch." Nana argued.

They crossed their arms in unison, signifying the argument was over.

"Those two are going to throw punches soon or later." Chris murmured to Ajay.

She shook her head sadly. Nothing was ever going to be normal in their family.

* * *

Adam led Mollie to a secluded waiting room. He checked the surroundings again.

Mollie stopped him and hugged him tightly, "I missed you."

His heart was beating soundly, he didn't want to get caught and cause even more problems.

"Yeah." he sighed softly.

She looked up at him angrily, "Adam, relax. They're all stuck up Aiden's ass; they don't care what you're doing."

She pulled him down to her kissing him slowly, deliberately. It only took a few moments to get him to relax and let himself enjoy her. He'd been so tense and uptight the whole time he was here it felt good to release the frustration and anxiety. He groaned into her mouth as he backed her against the wall.

"I needed this." he murmured.

"I know." she whispered, "Let's go somewhere, let's be alone for a little while just me and you."

"I can't leave Moll." he sighed.

"Yes you can. You need to do something for you. You'll be back before they even notice you're gone." she bargained.

"I can't. Aiden still isn't in the clear, and I can't leave the twins either." he told her.

"Nothing will happen in an hour. Come on; don't go all prude on me because of her." She rolled her eyes, biting his lower lip.

He growled, "I want you too, trust me, but now isn't the time. Aiden just gave birth, it feels weird."

She took him by the wrists and brought his hands up to her breasts, "How do those feel?"

She could see his defenses failing.

She pressed soft kisses to his neck, "Let's go baby, "I'll do that thing you like."

He smirked at her finally giving in, "You just don't give up do you?"

She kissed him again, laughing triumphantly.

He stopped dead in his tracks. She looked up at him, trying to figure out why he stopped. She spun around and saw Daniel standing menacingly in the doorway.

"Adam lets go." she said hoping she could prevent a fight.

"Go back to the room and wait for me." he said lowly.

"No, there's no way I'm leaving you." she argued.

Adam smirked confidently, "He's not going to do anything to upset Aiden or hurt the father of his grandkids."

Mollie sighed deeply, and glared at Daniel. The way he was standing there, all formidable and brooding made her scared for Adam. He hadn't uttered a word, hadn't blinked. She glanced back at Adam hoping he could handle this before she disappeared around the corner.

"So this is what you do huh? Gain their trust, smooth talk them, use them and move onto the next one?" Daniel began.

"Actually Mollie and I have been together for awhile, ever since Aiden got back with Alex. She left me not the other way around." Adam answered easily.

"So Aiden _knows_ about you and her then?" Daniel asked.

"No she doesn't." he shrugged, "We agreed from the beginning that we would separate our personal lives. We were just hooking up, that was our agreement."

Daniel scoffed, "You've got an answer for everything huh? That's all she was to you was a means to an end. You used her, put her life at risk, just to try and better yourself. Guess what, it didn't work. You're still a low life piece of scum. Not even Aiden could save you from the squalor that is your life."

Adam smiled though he was furious inside, "I bet it just eats at you that she fell in love with me. I could have gotten her to marry me and that kills you because I'm your worst nightmare."

Adam saw that he was right; Daniel's jaw was set in grin determination. Adam had the upper hand and they both knew it.

"I loved Aiden, I still do. I would have done anything to keep her and keep her happy." he admitted, "I'm much better for her than Alex and you know it."

"That's where you're wrong. Alex is her soul mate. She would have never left him for your dumbass. I realize now that he is what's best for her.," he said.

"You like her with Alex because you can control him. You can intimidate him to conform to whatever you want; you can't do that with me. I don't give a fuck what you say or think about me, and Aiden and the twins are included in that. She listens to me, she cares what I think, I'm a priority in her life, and you can't change that." he grinned evilly.

Daniel chuckled, "You think you've replaced me in her life? She's my daughter, there's nothing you can do to change that."

"She's their mother first and foremost, and she has to answer to me where they're concerned. I can persuade Aiden to do whatever I want. I matter to her. I'm what's important in her life. Sorry 'Dad', I stole her right from under your nose…deal with it." he said leaving Daniel stunned.

He took Mollie's hand and pulled her behind him to the parking lot.

Daniel walked slowly back to the room thinking about what Adam had said. He didn't know what he would do if that bastard really did have that much power over Aiden. How had she gotten in so deep with him? Certainly she wasn't some naive pawn of his, blindly following whatever he said. His chest tightened thinking of Adam continuing to manipulate Aiden. He would kill him if that was really happening.

Daniel's face was completely passive as he slipped back into Aiden's room.

Nana eyed him suspiciously, "What's wrong with you?"

He kept his eyes on Aiden sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed.

"We have a big problem we need to take care of."

* * *

**_Don't you just love all the drama?_**

**_*Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, AliceJericho, Sarcastic Nightmare, and xSamiliciousx for their reviews!* _**


	51. Double Trouble

_**Terribly sorry for the long wait for this chapter! **_

_**Not one of my favorite chapters, but it will do :)**_

* * *

Caroline looked worried, "What do you mean?"

Daniel shook his head angrily. His sweet angel was still asleep thankfully. He'd be damned before that rat bastard hurt her anymore than he already had.

"Was it Adam?" Nana whispered.

He nodded once.

"Alex wouldn't protest if we took her back to Savannah. Her and the babies could go with us." Caroline suggested.

"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about her. She's so caught up in Adam's web she can't see how he's hurting her." Daniel griped.

"So what do we need to do?" Nana asked.

She was down for anything.

Daniel never took his eyes off Aiden, "I'm not sure yet, but whatever we do we're going to have to tread very carefully."

They all nodded in agreement, just before Ajay came over with Rhett.

"Is everything okay?" she asked quietly.

She had noticed Aiden's family whispering about something. None of them answered her, though it didn't deter her from sitting down with them.

"Isn't he the cutest little thing?" she asked offering the baby to Caroline.

"He looks just like Aiden did when she was a baby." Nana smiled.

Ajay sighed, "I don't want to beat around the bush, that's not my style, but I know you're upset with Adam about how the babies got here, we all were, to be honest. I just really hope that now that they're here we can all move forward and focus on them. The twins are what really matters right?"

Daniel shook his head angrily. He was not a man of many words, unless the time called for it. He would have his say with her later and fill her in on how her older brother really had her duped.

"They are important Ashton, now one can deny that but so is our daughter. What Adam did to her is unforgivable really." Caroline said.

"I never thought I would forgive him. I think I was even madder than Alex." she confessed, "Look at what came of it though. Aiden has two more beautiful children. I have a niece and nephew, you and Gran have more grandkids. We can all be a big family. I swear Adam's a really great guy when you get to know him, all you have to do is give him a chance."

"Look Ashton, we know you care about Aiden but right now shoving your fuck up brother down our throats isn't going to help anything. He can go to hell with a gasoline jumpsuit on for all we care, understand?" Daniel shot her down.

Ajay's lip started trembling as she stood up, "Fine, you don't have to listen to me. Maybe I am a little biased because he's my brother. You will have to listen to Cookie when she wakes up though. She's their mother and I know that she loves Adam despite what he's done. You can fight it all you want, but nothing is going to change the fact that they're parents now."

Chris handed Anabelle to Gran to follow Ajay from the room to comfort her. The only thing preventing either side from coming to blows was Aiden's health. Nothing was more important than that.

She groaned from the bed causing Alex to stir from his half-awake stupor.

"Hey sweetheart, shhh, shhh…relax, you're okay." he hushed her.

"I hurt everywhere. I think I need to be _put_ into a coma this time." she whimpered into her pillow.

"Please don't say that." he begged trying not to remember that time in their life.

"Are the twins okay? I've been asleep, I haven't been taking care of them." she fretted trying to sit up.

"They're fine, calm down. We've got them covered." Alex assured helping her to incline the bed.

The twins were brought to her and laid in her lap. Aiden took the opportunity to marvel at her children. Miracle was the first word that came to her mind.

Ajay and Chris returned from her meltdown with Aiden's family.

"It makes me so happy to see you awake and smiling." Ajay beamed.

"Why were you crying?" she frowned.

"Who knows?" she lied, motioning to her belly.

Aiden pulled her into a hug just as Adam came into the room. He was energized; he was refreshed and ready to go after a quick romp with Mollie.

"There you are, I was just going to ask where you went." Aiden smiled.

Adam pecked her cheek, shouldering Alex aside, "Just had to do a few things. How are you feeling?"

"I'm so happy, look at them, how could I be anything else?" she laughed.

Adam watched her, her emotions were pouring off her and surrounding him. This was everything he had hoped for. Having Aiden, as the mother of his children was all he could have ever asked for. He had a reason to live; his life had a purpose and meaning now. Nothing else mattered.

"I've got even better news." he leaned in to whisper.

She looked up at him with her golden eyes waiting.

"We can go home first thing in the morning." he smiled.

He pulled her into his arms seeing her tear up, "I promised we wouldn't stay any longer than we had to."

Alex rolled his eyes the same time Aiden's father did. Apparently, Adam's new goal in life was to annoy the shit out of all of them.

* * *

The next morning was hectic as everyone tried to make Aiden and the twin's transition home as smooth as possible. Adam had insisted on driving much to Alex's utter annoyance. He had been biting his tongue all morning to prevent his wife from staying any longer at the hospital.

Thankfully, Ajay and Chris had offered to watch Lexie for a little while so they could get everyone settled at Adam's house….temporarily of course. They parked in the drive and both men were out immediately.

"Stay right there babe, I'll help you as soon as I get them out." Adam instructed Aiden.

"She's not your _babe_; can you not call her that?" Alex glared though the vehicle.

"Alex, please don't start." Aiden sighed through the pain she was in.

"I didn't, he did. I made a simple request, there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, I can help you out of the car." he argued.

He pressed the release button to lift the car seat from its base. He pulled the visor down to shield the infant from the sun.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?" Adam demanded coming around the car.

"I'm taking the car seat out to carry inside, what does it look like?" he shrugged sarcastically.

Adam took it from him, "Well fucking don't. I don't need your help with them you got that?"

"I'll be sure to remind you of that asshole." Alex griped.

"Maybe I should have just gone to Ajay's." Aiden frowned as Alex helped her out of the car.

"I'm trying honey, I really am." he admitted, "He's not making it easy though."

"Come on baby, I'll get you settled in our room." Adam cooed to Aiden carefully grasping her other arm.

"_I've got her_." Alex grated out.

"You're not allowed in my bedroom exactly like I'm not allowed in yours." Adam explained.

"You need to choose to take care of Aiden or the twins NOT both." he shot back.

"I already told you that I don't need your help. You can back off now." Adam growled escorting Aiden upstairs.

Alex clenched his fists at his side. He had to stay cool so Aiden wouldn't get upset at him.

He looked down at the twins sound asleep in their car seats.

"Both of you wake up at the same time and give your dad a hard time for me okay?" He whispered to them, "Cry, scream, shit your pants, the works, deal?"

He nodded and bumped each of their tiny fists. Adam came back downstairs and stood for a moment looking down at the babies.

"So…do they just chill out in there or do I take them out?" he finally asked.

Alex shrugged, "Figure it out _fuck face_."

Adam glared at him, "Whatever _asshole_."

He picked up both car seats and went the opposite direction to the living room. He could do this by himself.

How hard could it be?

* * *

**THREE HOURS LATER**

* * *

Adam was about to pull his hair out. Both twins had been crying non-stop for almost thirty minutes. He had done everything to try to get them to stop. He was at his wits end being too proud to call anyone for help.

"Adam?" Ajay called.

He sighed in relief.

"I can't get them to stop." he said pitifully.

She came over and picked up Anabelle, "Where the hell is Alex?"

"Fuck him." he muttered, copying Ajay's motions with Rhett.

"He could have helped you." she chastised rocking the infant.

"I don't want his help. I don't even want him to _be_ here." he groaned as the twins finally quieted down.

"Have you checked on Aiden?" Ajay asked placing the baby in bassinet.

"No, I couldn't leave them." he said dejectedly.

She touched her brother's arm, "Lie down and rest for a minute, I'll go and check on her."

She could feel his frustration as he dropped down onto the couch. She admired him for stepping up and doing the right thing, but double duty would take its toll on anyone.

Ajay tiptoed into Adam's room, "Cookie, did you need anything?"

"Morphine?" She requested feebly.

Ajay laughed, "How about something to eat and then if you still feel bad, a pain pill?" Aiden nodded, her eyes closing again.

She went back downstairs, "Chris, take Aiden her food and sit with her please."

He grabbed the takeout bag, anxious to see Aiden for himself.

"Don't give me that look Ajay." Alex rolled his eyes.

"I know you heard those babies crying, yet you did nothing to help?" she asked shrilly.

"He would have kicked me out anyways. I didn't even need to make the effort. It would have just stressed all of us out even more." he said.

"He can't take care of them and Aiden all by himself." she sighed.

Alex laughed, "No shit Sherlock. I tried telling him that. They all need to be at your house with you and Chris and her parents and Gran."

"Aiden's mom and dad won't help anything. They _hate_ Adam." Ajay frowned.

"They aren't the only ones." Alex muttered under his breath.

Chris came back downstairs, "She ate half and took a pain pill."

Alex ran a hand over his face, "I hate that she's in so much pain."

"We've got to get back home before there's any bloodshed between Nana and Gran. Listen out for the twins, and if he decides to not let you help him again, threaten to call me okay?" Ajay instructed.

Alex shrugged, "I'll try."

He snuck upstairs to check on Aiden for himself. He smiled seeing her sleeping peacefully. He half-sighed half groaned, forcing himself to go check at least on the twins.

Little feet kicked through the air in the bassinet. Alex glanced over at Adam who was asleep. He stepped closer to the small crib peering down at Anabelle who was wide-awake.

Alex sighed again lifting the baby to his chest. He went back to the kitchen sitting on the barstool.

"Were you trying to wake everybody up like last time?" he asked softly.

He could tell her cry from Rhett's already. Looking down into her cherub little face was pulling at his heart strings.

"You look a little like Lexie when she was born. She was a lot smaller though…and a lot quieter."

She yawned sleepily, her eyes drifting shut just as his phone began to ring.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, can you come over here? Lexie is all upset because both of you are gone." Chris explained.

Alex sighed deeply. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Aiden, but he couldn't let his daughter be upset.

"Tell her I'm coming okay?" he said.

He returned Anabelle to her sleeping brother's side.

"Wake up." he said shoving Adam roughly.

Adam groaned and rubbed his face, "What do you want?"

"To let you know I'm leaving. Lexie needs me, but I will be back. You think you can handle things for an hour or so?" Alex asked looking very skeptical.

"Of course, I'm glad you're leaving actually. You hovering is a big pain in the ass." he mumbled sleepily.

Alex left with a laugh, "You really are something else."

Adam sat up to check the twins. This is how it should have been. No Alex, none of Aiden's overbearing family, no Chris, just him, Aiden, the twins, and a little assistance from Ajay and Gran. He chuckled to himself thinking that he may just not answer the door when Alex came back. Maybe he would take the hint to leave them all alone for one night.

He went to the pantry to find something to eat. Between taking care of the twins and Aiden, he had totally forgotten about himself. He went to grab the measuring cups from the cabinet and in his haste dropped them and the pot he was carrying to the stove. He stayed completely still, praying that he hadn't woke the babies up.

Just as he exhaled, a sigh of relief…both of them started crying.

He ran his hands through his hair, "Fuck my life."

Their cries were about to fry his sleep deprived brain. He couldn't wake Aiden up and he sure as hell wasn't going to call Ajay or Alex for help. What could he do? The twins _HATED_ him apparently. He wondered if new fathers could have post partum too?

He picked up his phone to throw in the towel when it started ringing as if by magic. Someone, somewhere had heard his cry for help.

"Oh thank God! I need your help. Can you come over as fast as you can to the house?" he begged.

"I'm on my way, just hang tight." Mollie said.

She didn't know who in their right mind would leave Adam alone with the twins, but she didn't mind being the hero. She was thankful she was so good with kids, especially babies. Mollie could play sweet and innocent and beat Aiden at her own game. If Aiden and Alex got mad about it that would only add to her pay off.

She wasn't giving up Adam, and if that meant that she acquired the twins too, then that was a package deal she wasn't going to turn down. The more the merrier. The more she could piss Aiden off the better. She had it coming, and Mollie had finally figured out a way to stick it to her and still come out smelling like roses.

Step mommy always did have a nice ring to it in her mind.

* * *

_**Review please!**_

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, xSamiliciousx, Alice Jericho, and babygirlleahrox for their reviews AND patience!**_


	52. You Owe Me

_**Boo on the long wait I know...I was never far away though in my defense.**_

* * *

Adam answered the door looking more than a little frazzled. Mollie smirked and came into the foyer. She put her purse down and took Rhett from Adam.

"Come here little one." she cooed, "Was mean old daddy upsetting you?"

"Mean old daddy is about to lose his mind." he quipped following her into the living room.

"Babies are sensitive; they can tell if you're nervous or anxious. It makes them nervous and anxious too." she explained gently.

"I don't know what I'm doing. I suck at this. Everything I do makes them cry." he said, the frustration thick in his voice.

It hit him even harder when he realized she had already managed to quiet both babies down.

"Unfortunately, they don't come with instruction manuals sweetie." she frowned, "Why aren't Ajay or Gran over here helping you?"

He ran his hands through his hair, "Because I'm stubborn…I didn't want Aiden's family around so I figured it would only be fair if I didn't ask Ajay or Gran either."

"Is Alex upstairs with her?" Mollie asked her eyes going to the stairs.

"No, he went to see Lexie because she was all upset." he laughed sarcastically, "That's all I ever do anymore is make people upset."

"I was very happy you called me." she smiled.

He nodded as hot tears pricked her eyes, "This makes me flashback to Joey when I tried to raise him. It was the same situation; he cried all the time and I feel like a failure."

"You're not a failure Adam. I don't want to hear you say that." Mollie said her eyes flashing earnestly.

"It's like they know what I did and they hate me already for everything." he said softly.

"Will you stop? No wonder they're so upset, look at you.' she admonished, "You've got to be a little easier on yourself Adam. You're dealing with a whole hell of a lot; I'd say you're doing a good job so far."

He shook his head stubbornly. Mollie covered both babies with a soft blanket.

She pulled Adam to her in a comforting hug, "Remember all of those times you told me you were ready to do this, that you were ready to be a father?"

He rolled his eyes, "I must have been _insane_."

She kissed him gently, "You're determined, intelligent, and totally sexy I might add."

He snorted ruefully, "How can you look past all of my faults so easily? How can you honestly say that I'm doing a good job when you saw me just a minute ago?"

"At least you're trying. You're making an effort and that's what really counts." She smiled, "If you want an incentive to keep up the good work I'm sure I could work that out for you too."

"Now you're speaking my language." he grinned wolfishly.

He covered her small form with his own and began a heavy make out session with her. He had just taken her top off when someone cleared their throat. Adam and Mollie scrambled apart seeing Alex standing at the doorway looking pissed.

"_Really_?" he questioned sarcastically, "You called her over with Aiden right fucking upstairs?"

"Watch your mouth douche bag." Adam motioned at the twins.

"Suck it Adam. Mollie, get out before you start trouble." Alex sighed, pissed that he had to baby-sit not only the twins but Adam too.

"You can't kick people out of my house you dumbass." Adam scoffed.

Mollie smirked triumphantly.

"Wow, you're a lot dumber than I thought." Alex laughed.

Before Adam could say anything back, they all heard the stairs creak.

"Adam? Can you help me?" Aiden called feebly down the stairs.

Alex and Adam panicked. Mollie sat still with a smug look on her face. Alex clapped his hand over her mouth and drug her into the kitchen with him.

Adam rushed up the stairs and escorted Aiden to the couch.

"What are you doing up babe? You're supposed to be resting." he frowned, checking over her shoulder into the kitchen.

"I wanted to see them, and make sure they weren't giving you a hard time." she smiled, peering into the bassinet.

She was pleasantly surprised that both babies were sound asleep.

Adam covertly shook his head at Mollie who had appeared at the doorway before being hauled back by Alex.

"They're doing fine. I paid them off to behave just before you came down." he joked absently.

Aiden laid back on the couch in obvious discomfort.

"Are you still in a lot of pain?" he grimaced, knowing the answer already.

"As long as I don't move or breathe I'm okay." she winced.

"Hey sweetheart, what are you doing down here?" Alex smiled coming to sit beside her.

"I got sick of laying down." she sighed, closing her eyes.

"You're running low on diapers, you should go get some more." Alex made a face at Adam and hooked his thumb back at the kitchen.

Mollie was standing in the doorway again with her arms crossed angrily.

"Yeah, okay, I'll do that." he muttered quickly.

"How can you already be low on diapers?" Aiden wondered opening her eyes.

The math in her head wasn't adding up right. She felt certain that in all of her meticulous preparations that she would have made sure Adam had a stockpile of necessities, especially diapers.

"They both took after Adam and are full of shit." Alex cracked making Adam glare at him.

"I hate you." he growled, finally going to the kitchen.

* * *

He pulled Mollie outside with him. She jerked her arm from his grasp when the door closed.

"So how long am I supposed to be your dirty little secret Adam?" she snapped, "How long do we have to keep sneaking around?"

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "You think this is easy for me?"

She wiped at her eyes angrily, "Yeah I do! You get to play house with 'angel Aiden' and coddle her while I wait in the shadows until you have time for me. It's not fucking fair."

"Moll, you know why its necessary, I don't have to explain it to you again do I?" he shrugged wearily.

His exhaustion made the fight leave him. He was almost too tired to form coherant sentences, but made an effort because he was indebted to Mollie for all of her help with the twins.

"Explain to me why she gets to dictate our relationship." she narrowed her wet eyes at him, "Explain to me how she hates me more than you love or respect me."

Her words sunk in and battered his heart. He hadn't meant to make her feel used, but that was exactly what happened.

"I see you've made your choice asshole. Call me when you realize the mistake you've made...better yet…_don't_ call me." she said slamming the car door and speeding away.

Adam sunk down to the porch stairs wondering if he could have screwed things up anymore than he already had, not only with the twins, but now with Mollie too.

The next day was even worse than the one before. Aiden had insisted on going over to Ajay and Chris' house to see her family before they left. He had dealt with underhanded remarks from her family the whole time.

Anything he did was wrong, anything he said was wrong.

If he attempted to stay out of the way, he was lazy; if he made an effort he was smothering Aiden and the babies. He was about to blow and had to step outside.

Mollie wasn't answering any of his phone calls, no surprise; he'd treated her like shit. Even worse Aiden sounded like she was ready to go back home to Detroit which was really going to suck because then he would have to abide by Alex's rules and he already knew how big of a dickhead he could be.

He sat on the porch for a long time remembering that he had to return to work soon too. It was going to kill him to be away from his new family, knowing that Alex was going to be a stand in while he was gone. He shook his head dejectedly hearing his name being called from inside. He was going to have to put on a happy face and fake his way through the rest of the visit. Blowing up and giving everyone of them a piece of his mind would only make matters worse. He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair before trudging back inside.

* * *

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

* * *

"I'm proud of you." Alex said softly, kissing the back of his wife's hand.

"Why?" she asked, checking her reflection in the mirror.

"You've handled the twins being at Adam's very well. They've been over there for almost a week, and you haven't freaked once." he answered.

He had to admit that even he had been worried about them. Adam had not been very impressive handling the twins from what Alex had seen.

"I have to trust him, he is their father after all." she smiled, "I had to do the same thing with you when you would keep Lexie."

Alex's face deadpanned, "Let's not talk about that. That was a severe lapse in judgment on my part."

* * *

"Hey, where did you get this dress at? I haven't seen it before." Adam stopped Mollie in the hall, spinning her around into his chest.

"I've had this for forever. Its comfortable and I don't mind getting drool on it." she smiled.

He stared at her, realizing how much he needed her in his life. He would be totally lost without her, and was incredibly lucky that she had agreed to listen to him after their spat over Aiden.

She had been reluctant to take him back when he had called her and had come crawling to her. Apparently a horrible day with Aiden's horrible family had put things into perspective for him. She hadn't given in easily by any means, only when he asked her to move in with him had she agreed to any sort of relationship with him again.

The house in Tampa had been an easy transition since they were hardly ever there. It had been a great place for them to start fresh and get accustomed to living with one another. He'd given her a new project weeks later to keep her busy while he was traveling...moving in and decorating their new house in Detroit.

Mollie hadn't been thrilled about living so close to her ex AND Adam's ex, but knew if they were going to spend any time with the twins she was going to have to make the best of it. Aiden was still in the dark about their relationship and she hadn't really pressed Adam fruther on the issue. She was content with their new life and their new house.

Taking care of the twins was one of her favortie things to do. As soon as they were dropped off with Adam she would go to them as soon as Aiden left. It prided Mollie to no end that she was the one who helped groom Adam into the father he was. It brought her so much joy to watch his relationship with his children grow, and know that she had been a part of it.

The past few days had been blissful for them. Aiden had granted Adam a rare long visit with the twins. They had really started to gel as a second family for the babies even in those few days. A routine had been established and everyone was at ease at last with their current arrangement.

Adam ran a hand through her silky hair, his lips meeting hers in a soft kiss, "I love you."

Her blue eyes sparkled hearing him say that, "I love you too."

"I'm glad you decided to put up with me." he whispered, his lips going to her ear.

She shivered involuntarily, "I haven't regretted it _yet_.

"Thanks." he laughed sarcastically.

"Oh shut up, you know what I meant." she pushed him away.

"Do you mind waking them up while if fix some lunch." he asked.

Mollie smiled, "Not at all. I love waking them up because they do that cute snuggly thing."

He smiled happily at her, "You make a really great mom Moll."

She nodded, hiding the sadness, "Thank you."

She went past him up the stairs to the nursery. Anytime someone told her what a great mother she would be, it cut her to her core. All she ever wanted was another chance to have a child, to actually be in labor and do all of the things new mothers got to do that she had opted out of so long ago. Very few people knew about her darkest secret and how much it haunted her. Helping Adam raise the twins fended off some of her guilt, but she knew she would never truly be healed until she had a child of her own.

For the longest time she had only envisioned herself having a baby with Alex, somewhere deep inside of her still did. Somewhere in the past few weeks her vision had morphed into being pregnant with Adam's child. She knew it was a far away, possibly intangible dream, but she could always hope.

* * *

Adam turned the stove off and went to the front door. His stomach dropped to the floor when he saw Aiden and Alex.

"Sorry to come by unannounced, we wanted to have lunch with you and the twins. Aiden smiled brightly holding up a bag from a nearby bistro.

"She held out for as long as she could." Alex explained, smirking at her, "She missed them too much though."

"Umm…..they're taking a nap…why don't I bring them over later?" Adam suggested awkwardly trying to divert them from coming in.

"We won't stay long, I promise. I'm not trying to cut in on your time with them." Aiden frowned, "I just can't stay away from them for this long yet."

"No, I didn't think that…" he trailed off trying to stall until he came up with a better reason why she shouldn't come in.

"Who are you talking to?" Mollie called coming down the stairs, freezing when she saw the heated glare from Aiden.

For as long as she had wanted Aiden to find out about her and Adam's relationship, she had never pictured it happening like this. She reluctantly came down the rest of the stairs, the twins resting on either shoulder.

"I can explain..." Adam sighed, knowing he'd just started world war three.

"I think you _owe_ me that." Aiden replied icily as she moved past him into the dining room.

So much for the great day he was having….

* * *

_**Thanks to xSamiliciousx, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, and Sarcastic Nightmare for their reviews!**_


	53. She Knows

_**Roadtrip=FINALLY finishing a new chapter**_

_**So here it is:**_

* * *

Aiden haughtily brushed past Adam and into his dining room leaving the other three to follow in her pissed off wake. She was unpacking the surprise lunch she had brought in a furious haste. No one dared to say anything. While not known for her temper, her razor sharp tongue and quick wit when angry deterred the normally fiery tempers of the others.

Mollie was biding her time. She knew she would have her chance to finally go toe to toe with her most hated enemy. Adam was terrified of losing the twins in all of Aiden's fury. He had seen her obliterate Alex when he attempted to take Lexie with one phone call. He was kind of worried she was already prepared for this situation too.

"Sit." Aiden ordered, her usually delicate voice stern with stress.

"Why don't we talk in my room?" Adam suggested.

"_Sit. Down_." she reiterated.

They all lowered into their seats anticipating the upcoming argument.

"I suppose we can share with you since I was obviously unaware you were here." Aiden gritted out, fixing plates of food.

"Obviously." Mollie smiled.

She had settled the twins into their swings and was enjoying how furious she was making Aiden. Aiden glared at her nemesis while placing a plate in front of her.

"You're so accommodating." Mollie batted her eyes at her with a sickly sweet grin.

"Mollie….don't." Adam mumbled under his breath.

He was highly aware of the severe consequences he would have to deal with if Aiden was provoked at all.

"Don't what? She's being nice enough to include me, that's all I was saying." she smiled again.

Adam sighed and shook his head. He thought she would know better than to antagonize Aiden at a time like this.

"So, what's all of this about?" Aiden began, daintily placing a napkin across her lap.

"_THIS_…" Mollie gestured sarcastically, "Isn't really any of your business."

Adien scoffed, "_THOSE_ are my children, so yes it is."

"We're dating, Mollie and I…ummm, exclusively." Adam spoke up quickly.

Aiden pursed her lips, "For how long?"

"None of your business! You're such a nosy bitch!" Mollie blew up finally.

Aiden ignored her completely and continued staring at Adam. He was completely unnerved by her mercurial gaze. He had heard rumors from his sister how powerful one look from her could be and now he was definitely feeling the heat.

"We've been together for awhile. Before you had the twins." he answered her, even though he absolutely didn't want to.

"Oh my God Adam! Stop it! You don't have to tell her anything." Mollie grated out.

"She's their mom…" he stated.

He really wanted to try and keep the peace between him and Aiden. He didn't want to even imagine the consequences if he failed.

"And you're their father! Who you're with has nothing to do with them." she hissed.

He ran his hands through his hair, "Moll, please let me handle this. Please?"

She turned her fierce gaze to Aiden, "You're not going to control him, I won't let you."

"When will you realize that nobody cares about you Mollie?" Aiden snapped back.

She laughed, "Obviously you do or you wouldn't be foaming at the mouth every time you see me."

"I wouldn't be if you would find your own boyfriend, your own husband, or have your own kids and stop creeping in on _mine_." Aiden retorted hatefully.

Mollie laughed, "I was with Alex first, and he's just as guilty in this as anyone else."

Aiden turned slowly to her husband who had been entirely too quiet during the whole argument.

"He's known about us the whole time." she ousted, "And so has Ajay and neither one of them told you."

Tears welled up in Aiden's eyes as she stared Alex down, "Is this true?"

"Yes, but it was only because Adam was being so negligent and retarded with the twins." he tried to explain.

"Oh fuck you! You weren't going to tell her regardless of how I handled the twins." Adam shot back, "And I was never negligent with them, I was trying to learn what to do and how to take care of them."

"Whatever asshole. Nobody's that stupid with kids." Alex scoffed angrily.

"You're such a dick." Mollie rolled her eyes at him.

"And you _loved_ it you loud mouth bitch." he spat back.

Adam shot out of his chair to keep Mollie from jumping across the table.

"We're leaving." Aiden huffed.

Adam's heart dropped to his stomach when he saw her unbuckling the babies.

"No Aiden, please don't take them." he begged letting Mollie go.

"I can't trust you Adam." she sighed, lifting Anabelle from the swing.

He took his daughter from her so she could pick up Rhett.

"Please, I'm trying here Ai. Can we figure something out? Can we talk about it?' he offered, cradling Anabelle to his chest.

"I need to cool down before I discuss this with you." she glared.

He fought the stab of pain in his chest, realizing he was fighting a losing battle.

He turned to Mollie sadly, "Will you grab their bags from upstairs?"

"_No_." she seethed, "I don't think its right that she can just come in here and take your kids because she doesn't like who you're with. That's _bullshit_."

"You don't get a say so because these aren't your kids. You aborted yours, remember?" Aiden shot back furiously, her angelic face red with anger.

"Aiden, come on….don't go there." Alex shook his head, he knew how much guilt Mollie harbored over that decision from years ago.

Mollie's tears were instant as she nodded her head, "And I made sure you didn't make the same mistake with them."

"Regardless, I had every right to know that YOU of all people were helping him with them. If he was stressed or overwhelmed he should have come to me, not you.' she said turning to the door.

Mollie let the hot tears fall down her cheeks when she saw the pain on Adam's face of losing the twins.

"I'll leave if you let them stay.' she called out, hoping to save Adam some grief.

"It's a little late for that now. You should have thought about that when all of you were lying to me." Aiden retorted.

"Aiden, I'll leave for good. I'll go back to Nashville, I'll move out and go back home if you'll let them stay with him." Mollie cried out of frustration and desperation.

"That's tempting but like I've said, this isn't about you. He lied to me about our children, that's the issue here." Aiden dismissed, going outside to the car.

Adam followed behind her sadly. He stood by watching her buckle their son in.

"I'm sorry." he choked out when she came around to the other side.

"Give her to me Adam." she hissed, glaring up at him.

"Will you call me as soon as you're ready to talk, please?" he begged, trying to stall her.

"_Give her to me, now."_ she ordered angrily.

He fought back tears as he kissed the top of Anabelle's head. He handed the tiny infant to Aiden and stepped back bringing his fist up to his mouth to keep from crying out.

Aiden closed the door when she had finished buckling them up.

"All you had to do was be honest with me Adam, I would have helped you any way I could." she frowned.

"You're such a _bitch_ Aiden! Leave already! Stop torturing him!" Mollie screamed from the front door step.

"Oh go to hell you stupid wannabe." Aiden yelled back opening her door and slamming it shut.

"I'm sorry. Aiden! I'm so sorry, _please_!" Adam begged, banging on the back windows as Alex reversed out of the drive.

Adam stopped at the edge of the grass and dropped to his knees as they pulled away.

Mollie ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, "I hate her, I hate her, I** HATE** her!"

"I didn't know it would hurt like this. I feel like I can't breathe." he gasped, falling back onto the grass.

"I'll figure this out. You have rights Adam. I won't let her bully you around." she promised.

"No, you _know_ how she is. She'll anhilate me if I tried to take her to court. She'll calm down and hopefully be reasonable then."

* * *

"Hey Cookie, that was a fast visit." Ajay commented opening the front door.

"We need to talk.' she said marching past her friend briskly.

Ajay followed her into the living room where she had already begun pacing.

"What's wrong with you?" Chris asked looking between them.

"How could you not tell me Ashton?" Aiden half shouted.

Chris perked up instantly at her raised voice. He knew something was really wrong if she was yelling.

"Tell you what?" Ajay asked making a face.

'About Mollie and Adam!" she clarified shrilly.

"What?" Chris frowned looking at his wife, "He's with her?"

Ajay covered her face, "I can explain Cookie…"

"Please do, because I'm at a loss right now." Aiden crossed her arms, her stance was clearly defensive.

"I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how. You were so upset the last time Adam left I didn't think it was a good idea. He was doing so good with the twins with her help and everyone was so happy, I didn't want to ruin it." she explained.

"Mollie doesn't make me happy Ajay. She _never_ has, she probably _never_ will. Surely you knew that." Aiden hissed.

"Its just Mollie Aiden…' she was only trying to help him. He wants to be a good father and he didn't want to let you down." Ajay tried.

"I'm their mother, not Mollie. When have I ever _not_ helped Adam by the way? When did that ever get factored into this?" she threw her arms up.

Ajay sighed, "I didn't think he would be happy again after you. Seeing him with the twins and with Mollie just got to me. Every time I made up my mind to tell you I kept seeing how well he was doing with everything and I couldn't mess that up. You understand don't you?"

Aiden had tears in her eyes again, "I thought I did Ashton."

"Aiden, don't cry please. I didn't do this to hurt you, I was trying to prevent that actually. You had just gotten out of the hospital and you know how everyone worries about you, especially me." she pleaded.

"That's always everyone's fallback isn't it? That's always everyone's go to defense when I'm involved in anything." she shouted.

"Of course it is! You**_ DIED_** Aiden! I'll _never_, ever forget that!" Ajay cried.

Aiden pointed her finger at her, her body shaking in anger, "Don't! Do **NOT** bring that up with me right now! This isn't about that! This is about my children and everyone keeping secrets from me like I'm some fucking child!"

"You sweep what happened to you under the rug like it never happened and I can't do that. All I was trying to do was protect you. If I thought for one second that decision in any way would negatively effect those babies I would have come clean in a heartbeat." Ajay yelled.

Aiden wasn't convinced, "All you did was protect your brother and his new girlfriend who just so happens to hate my guts. I am **SICK** of everyone's pity. You, Adam, Mollie, and Alex, all of you went too far this time. I refuse to be a victim because of what I went through and none of you will treat me like this ever again. I'm _through_ with this."

She turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her.

Ajay stared after her knowing it would be better not to run after her.

"I swear I didn't mean for her to get so upset. I thought I was doing the right thing." she fell back onto the couch beside Chris.

"Not telling me was the right decision too?" he asked lowly.

"Chris…" she groaned.

Of course he would be mad at her too.

"Ajay! Ashton? Is Aiden here? Have you seen her?" Adam asked barreling through the front door.

Chris muttered under his breath seeing Adam and Mollie come into the living room, "I hope all of you are happy."

"You just missed her." Ajay shook her head in defeat.

"_Obviously_, Chris knows now too." Mollie rolled her eyes.

"How in the hell did she find out?" Ajay questioned.

"I didn't know she was coming over and Mollie came down with Rhett and Anabelle." Adam lamented.

"No wonder she was so mad." Ajay mumbled.

"Did she say anything else? Did she sound like she was calming down a little bit?" Adam rambled, pacing the floor much like Aiden had been.

"No. She was furious. I haven't seen her this mad in awhile." Ajay said chewing on her lip.

"_I told you_. I'm not going to see them before I leave now. She's not going to let me, I _know_ she's not." He ran his hands through his hair completely frustrated and on the verge of tears again.

"Adam, we'll talk to her and figure this out. She's not going to keep them from you." Mollie tried to reassure him.

"I need a beer." he finally gave up and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ajay furrowed her brow wondering what had gotten him so upset.

Mollie read her expression easily, "She basically ripped the twins from him. He begged her all the way down the driveway not to take them. He fell out on the lawn and said _'I didn't know it could hurt like this.'_ She has him by he balls and is using the twins to manipulate him. He hasn't sat still since she left with them."

Ajay's temper flared. Adam didn't deserve to be traumatized like that.

"I know she's your friend, but I swear if she doesn't come to her senses soon I will beat her ass. What she's doing to him is wrong." Mollie swore dropping onto the couch.

Ajay sighed and went upstairs to look for Chris, silently dreading the conversation. He was standing in front of their picture window in their bedroom. His whole body was tense, she could see it from the doorway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he rasped, anger deepening his voice ever so slightly.

Ajay shrugged, "Because you would have told her I guess."

He snorted, "So you're just going to keep punishing me Ajay?"

She waited for clarification.

He turned to he then, "Are you ever going to trust me where she's concerned or are we going to continue keeping secrets from one another.

"I'm not punishing you. I was protecting Aiden." she argued.

He rolled his eyes angrily, "Whatever you want to call it Ajay it all boils down to the same thing."

"It's always about her isn't it? She's all we ever fight about anymore." she cried, throwing her hands up.

"No, this isn't about her. This is about you covering for your stupid brother again." he shouted, "You kept a huge secret from me Ashton!"

"That huge secret had absolutely _NOTHING_ to do with you. In no way did it effect you." she threw back at him.

Chris lowered his head, "We used to never keep things from each other."

"I wanted to give my brother a chance at happiness. Is that so wrong Josh? All I've ever wanted was for him to settle down and raise his kids, you can't fault me for that. Yeah Aiden is my friend, but he's my brother, and he was desperate to try and make it work." she tearfully explained.

Chris shook his head trying to let it go. He was trying not to be furious at Adam for creating so much chaos in their lives.

"You should see him right now. He's downstairs freaking out because Aiden took the twins from him. He's trying this time, like really trying." she said in the hopes that she could sway him to her side.

Chris blew out a frustrated breath.

"This has got to stop. You and I can't keep shit from each other anymore. We only hurt each other in the long run."

"Agreed." she smiled hesitantly, "I'm sorry baby."

"I should make you sleep on the couch like you do me all the time." he smirked.

* * *

Alex watched as Aiden paced the floor of her childhood bedroom. She had insisted upon leaving to go "home" as soon as they got to their house. He had somehow convinced her to let him go with her to help with the kids. She was still angry and he couldn't really blame her.

"He had to be with **HER** of all people." she hissed angrily.

"She's not _that_ bad babe." Alex smirked, scratching his chest lazily.

Aiden stopped and glared at him, "Its Mollie…she **IS** that bad."

"She's really great with the kids though. Lexie doesn't like anybody, but she goes right to her." Alex offered up.

He was really hoping to find some middle ground where everybody could be happy…and sane and calm.

"Are you trying to make a point or something Alex?" Aiden huffed.

He sat pensively scrutinizing his choice of words. He'd learned arguing with Aiden was more of an art form than a battle. Arguments consisted of intricate tap work and the ability to keep up with her pace.

"I understand that you're their mother and you always put their best interest first and foremost." He began slowly, "I also get that you were completely blindsided today too."

"And?" she stopped pacing and crossed her arms, focusing all attention on him.

This was where he had to stay strong and focused. This was the moment when Aiden won the majority of her arguments without saying anything at all. Her intense gaze could rattle anyone, he'd put his paycheck on it. She would stare for as long as she had to. She'd go as still as a statue and wait for the other person to falter, to blink, to flash their jugular.

Alex dropped his eyes as a small concession, "And you reacted…maybe a little too harshly."

He looked back up at her; a silent challenge on his part to consider what he'd just proposed. She hadn't moved, not even an inch. He was about ninety percent sue she didn't even realize what she was doing. Her instincts took over and she became this dark, calculating, other worldly being.

"What are you saying?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with a silent challenge of her own.

He shrugged, running his finger over her soft sheets, "Maybe rushing off with the twins wasn't such a great idea."

She tilted her head slightly, "Why not?"

Alex swallowed audibly knowing the conversation was about to get difficult, "I know what its like to be in Adam's shoes and it sucks. You hold all the power where Lexie and the twins are concerned and its pretty scary at times to know and be faced with that fact. It sucks to realize that I could piss you off and not know when I'll see my daughter again."

Aiden pointed at him angrily, "I never kept her from you, and that's not what I'm doing with Rhett and Anabelle. And how is this my fault? All of you lied to me, not the other way around."

"That's not what I meant honey, its just that…I can't believe _I'm standing up for him right now_, but he really was trying to impress you. He was trying to figure out the whole dad thing on his own, and that's hard enough with just one kid. He needed Mollie's help. She helped him balance things out and its good for her too. She's not half as bitchy when she's surrounded by kids." he explained as gently as he could.

"So I'm supposed to just forgive and forget?" she glared.

"Not exactly no." he smiled knowing she was a sucker for his goofy grins, "I'm saying be mad, call and cuss his ass out again if you want, but let him see the twins. Figure out what you'll be good with, set up whatever boundaries and rules you need and try to move past this."

"I hate being the bigger person." she pouted. He got off the bed and pulled her to him, "You're so cute when you are though babe."

"Uggh…I still don't like Mollie though." she groaned.

He kissed her softly, "You don't have to like her babe. She probably doesn't like you either. All both of you have to do is tolerate each other."

Aiden huffed out a breath still fighting the inevitable conclusion.

"Good news is she has to respect you and I'm pretty sure Adam will back you up. Just do me a favor and don't push her buttons too much. This isn't easy on her either." he framed her face to look into her eyes.

"I'll think about it." she finally gave in with an eye roll.

Alex nodded with a smirk, "Good enough. Now will you think about giving me some that sexy little booty?"

"I don't know, you may still be in the doghouse." she crossed her arms defiantly.

"That's not fair." he whined, "I'll beg like Keith Sweat, you know I don't care. Come on baby, please?"

"I'll tell my Daddy." she fired back, crawling into bed.

"That's cold Aiden." he frowned, poking his lip out.

She laughed at his pitiful expression before turning off the light.


	54. Beginnings and Endings

**_Because: J'taime Demi :)_**

* * *

"I am always amazed at how big Wrestlemania is." Ajay breathed in fascination as she watched the crews set up final props.

Fans had already begun to filter in and the air was becoming electric.

"Adam was really excited, despite everything." Mollie smiled, rocking PJ on her shoulder.

PJ was Ajay and Chris' newest addition to their family, having been born only a few weeks prior.

Ajay smiled sadly. The last time anyone had heard from Aiden was almost a month ago. She, Alex and the kids had packed up and left and hadn't answered anyone's phone calls. Adam had been completely desolate the past month. He held onto the hope that maybe if he left her alone and let her sort everything out that she would eventually let him see her and the babies again.

The last two weeks he had been pressured by his family to pursue his rights as a father, but he vehemently denied them each time.

She would win, there was no doubt in his mind, and then he would never be able to see them.

He called her everyday and left voice mails telling her about his day and how much he missed the twins, and would always end up pleading to see them before he hung up.

He had even gone to a few of Alex's independent shows in the hopes that she would be there.

She never was. He should have known better.

Alex had caught onto him and began doing tours in Japan to avoid him even further. Mollie then proceeded to call Alex and curse him out so bad that he even stopped picking up the phone.

Adam had no other options. He was at a loss, and the pain had been unbearable. He had been noticeably dull the night before at the Hall of Fame ceremony. He had tried to call Aiden again and begged her to the point of tears to please let him see the twins.

As usual there was no response. Everything seemed hopeless and he just couldn't put on a happy face any longer.

* * *

"Hey, is everything good here?" Adam asked coming into the private sky box he had gotten for his family.

"Oh Adam…" Ajay frowned seeing the hope fade in his eyes.

He was checking to see if Aiden had shown up. Everyone knew, no one called him out about it though.

"I'm okay Ash." he sighed pulling her into a hug.

Gran hugged them both, "We're all so proud of you son."

He nodded, biting back tears, "Yeah, I know. I'm glad that you're here at least."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else." Mollie said, the tenacity clearly evident in her voice.

"Thanks babe." he smiled, giving her a kiss, "How's this little guy doing?"

Mollie rolled her eyes, "He's very much like his uncle, he farts a lot."

"Uncle Jay?" Adam tilted his head to the side.

"Ummm no. Uncle Stinky, aka _YOU_!" Mollie laughed.

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You always know how to make me smile."

"Mollie blushing, who would have thought?" Chris teased from where he was putting snacks out for Joey and Kenzie.

"Shut up Josh." Mollie hissed.

"I needed this. For all of you to be here for me. Thank you. I know I haven't been the most pleasant person to be around the last month, so this really means a lot." he said with a sad smile.

He saw Ajay and Gran's hands fly to their mouths. The gasp that went through the room stood every hair of his on end. They were all looking behind him at the door. All of them were open mouthed and in complete shock.

No…it _couldn't_ be.

He turned slowly, feeling his lungs burning for air. He blinked several times, not believing his blurry eyes.

Aiden was standing in the doorway, the twins both asleep on her shoulder.

"A-Ten!" Joey shouted happily in his seat.

"You're here…" he gasped.

His legs were completely limp as he lurched forward.

"Aiden…my God…you're _here_." he cried out, throwing his arms around her and his babies.

"I can't believe this." he gasped holding her out at arms length.

She was noticeably stiff, feeling all the attention on her.

"Can I?" he asked cautiously, looking down at the twins.

She nodded with a small smile.

He brought them to his chest one at a time and completely melted. He sat in the closest chair and marveled at his children.

"Aiden. I'm so sorry." Ajay whispered, tears streaming down her face as she came to stand before her estranged best friend, "I've missed you, and I've worried about you so much. I know why you were mad at me. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Oh, _stop_ crying." Aiden admonished pulling her in for a hug, "I really needed to process everything and work through my anger with everyone. I needed to be okay with myself before I could be around ya'll again."

"I'm just so happy you're here." Ajay sobbed.

"We're happy you're here for Adam and that you brought my beautiful grandchildren too." Gran smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

She had a few things she wanted to hash out with her later.

Aiden locked eyes with Mollie who hadn't moved from where she was standing.

Everything in her was cold, frozen to the core. She had been waiting to confront that stupid bitch about all the pain she had caused Adam and forced him to endure. There were a thousand and one names she had wanted to hurl at that selfish cow as she pummeled her endlessly into the ground.

Looking at Adam gazing in wonder at his kids made all of that seem utterly pointless however. She had promised herself she would do whatever was necessary to make sure Adam got his children back, and she did not intend to go back on her word.

She raised her chin, chewing on her lower lip to keep the tears at bay and marched straight out the door. There was no way that Aiden would leave because of her again. Mollie vowed to take the high road, something she seldom did where Aiden was concerned. In the end, it wasn't about that fucking twat; it was about Adam being with Rhett and Anabelle.

She was almost to the end of the hallway when the tears started. How was this ever going to work for all of them? How could she be with Adam and have her 'happily ever after' when he was controlled by his satanic, bitch of an ex.

"Mollie, wait." Aiden called, following her down the hall.

**_Anyfuckingbody but her!_**

"I'm leaving, _okay_? I'm not getting in your way. _Please_ let Adam spend time with them, that's all I ask." she choked out,** hating** herself for crying in front of Tinkerbitch.

"Would you stop for a second? I don't want you to leave." Aiden yelled at her, finally catching up to her.

"We don't co-exist very well, that's common knowledge. I don't want to be the reason you take them from him again." she shrugged angrily.

"Just stop." Aiden shouted.

Mollie turned to face her and before she could react or register what was going on Aiden enveloped her in a breathtaking hug. She was squeezing her as if she'd never get the chance to do so again. Who knew the little bitch was that strong?

Mollie pushed her away abruptly, "_Are you fucking **high**_? What in the world would possess you to do that?"

Aiden was blushing furiously, "Mollie, despite all of our differences, and we have quite a few…"

"Yeah, no shit…" Mollie breathed.

"I can't continue to hate you. I can't continue our feud and carry on all of this animosity between us. I have to trust you and I have to bury the hatchet for my twin's sake." she said, her voice wavering slightly.

Mollie threw her hands up; she couldn't even take the high road without Aiden trying to one up her.

"What the hell are you saying? And why the hell did you _touch_ me?' Mollie all but shrieked.

"I know how much you care about Lexie…" she began.

"I _love_ her." Mollie interjected.

Aiden nodded, "And I know how much you care about Rhett and Anabelle…"

Mollie started crying, "I love them too..."

Aiden looked frustrated as she wiped away her own tears, "I know that. You would have never just walked away from confronting me about everything if you didn't."

"So what does this mean then?" Mollie sniffled, with a flippant shrug of her shoulders.

"It means that I am truly very sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I can't ask you to forgive me because I could never expect you to. From now on, I promise to respect you and your relationship with my children and with Adam and Alex if you promise to be there for Lexie, Rhett, and Anabelle and to continue loving them like you do.' she explained.

She was taken aback.

No.

She was in _shock_.

"So we're supposed to be friends now?" she pondered skeptically.

"Well, we should probably crawl before we walk. I think we would probably kill each other if we tried the 'too much too soon' approach." Aiden winced at the thought.

"So we should try to _not_ be enemies then, is that what you're saying?" Mollie scowled.

"At least where the kids are concerned. I think if we both put forth the effort to respect each other and their involvement in each of our lives and our relationships with their fathers that it would benefit everyone." Aiden explained.

"Wow…you sounded like a huge slut just then." she laughed.

Aiden gritted her teeth, "Is this you trying? Because that's not very promising if so."

Mollie rolled her eyes, "Just a small little final dig. You owe me at least one after the shit you've put us through. A month _really_?"

"That's how long it took me to convince myself this could actually happen between us and also if I could stomach it." she smiled sweetly, "So what do you say Moll; think we can tolerate each other for the babies sake?"

She held out her hand as a gesture for them to both seal the deal and end years of feuding, fighting and strife between them.

Mollie took her hand after debating with herself, "Just don't go and get knocked up by another boyfriend of yours because this agreement doesn't cover them."

Aiden glared at her, 'I'm sure you're tired of my sloppy seconds anyways. Looks like you'll have to find a new man of your own if things don't work out with you and Adam."

Mollie shrugged indifferently, "I don't know, Randy was pretty cute, you hooked up with him didn't you, _whore_?"

"You're such a _bitch_." Aiden laughed while shaking her head.

"Well you wanted to be BFF's _not_ me." she winked, "Oh and a sub clause to our agreement, don't **ever** hug me again understand?"

"Not a problem. I didn't really want to in the first place but I was afraid you were going to hit me." she smirked.

"Its like we've known each other forever." Mollie gushed sarcastically as they walked back to the private room.

* * *

"There you are. Is everything okay?" Adam questioned looking between them.

"Yeah, we're good." Mollie smiled.

"I've got to go…umm; you'll wait for me to get back right? Will you let me see them before you leave, please?" Adam asked hopefully.

"We'll wait for you." Aiden smiled.

"Thank you." he sighed, "See you guys in a little while."

He gave Mollie a quick kiss and disappeared down the hall.

"You just made his whole night." Gran beamed.

"I'm happy that he's happy." Aiden answered gently.

There was still plenty of tension in the room. Chris hadn't so much as looked Aiden's way once.

She went to Joey and Kenzie giving them both big hugs before sitting down beside Chris, "Hey."

Chris snorted and shook his head, "That's it? _Hey_?"

"I don't know what else to say." she frowned.

He _never_ got angry with her.

"How bout an 'I'm sorry' for starters or am I not worthy for that either?" He shot back careful to keep his voice low.

"It wasn't like that Chris. I needed to get away from everybody." she sighed.

"I didn't have shit to do with Adam and Mollie." he hissed before shaking his head, "I thought we were closer than that."

"I know you weren't involved, but can't you understand that I needed some distance? Won't you admit what me being gone has done for you and Ajay?" She whispered, tears pricking the back of her eyes.

He stared at her knowing his face was betraying the truth to her. Things _had_ changed between him and Ajay.

"I was in the middle of everything. I know I caused a lot of fights between the both of you and I just felt we could all use a break from me." she explained.

"Well why did you get to make that decision all on your own?" How was that fair? You know how much we all worry about you." he challenged her, looking directly into her eyes.

"Because nobody would have let me leave. You would have _never_ made that decision Josh. You're completely incapable of seeing the real problem even when it's right in front of your face." she said, "Look, I know Ajay was constantly comparing herself to me and was constantly worrying about my friendship with you. Whether or not you like to admit it, it was becoming a problem."

Chris rolled his eyes, "She _knows_ we're just friends."

Aiden cocked her eyebrow, "So she's not watching our every move right now then?"

Chris looked behind her to his wife who was in fact not-so-covertly stealing fretful glances at them every chance she got.

He crossed his arms defiantly, "What you did wasn't fair to us, especially to me, Ai. I was worried fucking sick about you. You could have at least text me back."

"I'm sorry Josh. I stand behind my decision though. What I did wasn't just for me, it was for everyone. Whether you admit it or not, you and Ajay _needed_ me to leave." she said sadly.

He nodded, obviously frustrated with her point of view of the situation. She stood with a frown and went to sit next to Mollie.

"Did you break up with your boyfriend?" she asked sipping from her drink nonchalantly.

Aiden flushed seeing Ajay and Gran's eyes shoot up from the babies they were holding.

"It wasn't like that Mollie. You do remember our agreement, correct?" she seethed.

Mollie rolled her eyes, "You'll have to forgive me. I'm sure you know how hard it is to go from _hating_ someone to barely tolerating them."

"Next time why don't you look at the twins to remind yourself what's at stake." she spat.

The room filled with an uncomfortable silence as the show finally began. Everyone watched with vested interest except Aiden of course. She only paid attention during Adam's match and even then just barely.

"He's going to be so happy. That was a great finish." Ajay gushed looking relaxed for the first time since Aiden had gotten there.

"And they both go to see Daddy wrestle at Wrestlemania. That's the coolest part." Mollie baby talked to Anabelle, who she was holding.

Two hours later Adam and Jay finally came up to the private room.

"Congratulations! Both of you were fantastic!" Ajay squealed running to her brothers.

Everyone was elated, but Aiden knew something was up from the look on Adam's face.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What's wrong? You're not acting right."

He looked over at her and then around at his family, "Tonight was my last match. I'm retiring tomorrow on RAW."

* * *

_**Special thanks to: Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Sarcastic Nightmare, fairytink101, and of course AliceJericho!**_

_**All of you are positively fabulous!**_

_**Muah :***_


	55. Just For Tonight

**_You are not allowed to hate me after this chapter._**

_**Just sayin...**_

* * *

"What? Why?" Mollie barely got the words out as she held onto him tightly.

"They can't medically clear me anymore because of my neck." he explained with a sigh.

"When did that happen? Are they sure it's not temporary?" Ajay questioned.

He shook his head as the tears started back, "I've been losing feeling in my arms prior to tonight. They did an MRI and said that if I continued wrestling I risk being paralyzed from the neck down or I could die from it."

The entire room gasped.

"All I could think about was not being there for the twins. Not being their father isn't an option for me so the decision was kind of easy." he said.

His family surrounded him and gave him the outpouring of love he needed.

Everyone except Aiden.

She sat in the furthest corner away from them watching the remainder of the show. She looked so melancholy staring blankly down at the ring. He wasn't sure how to approach her. He also didn't want to upset Mollie in the process either. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly up until then.

"Hey kid." He greeted softly after garnering up enough courage, "You okay?"

She didn't turn to him. He wasn't entirely sure she even heard him.

Mollie came over and interjected, "Aiden, if it's okay with you, we'll keep the twins so you and Adam can talk. I know you have a lot to sort out, especially now."

Adam was stunned into silence. He had never heard them act civilly towards one another.

Aiden finally turned then, "We do have a lot to discuss. Are you sure you don't mind watching them?"

"Not at all. We'll go to Chris and Ajay's suite at the hotel." she informed, giving Adam a quick kiss, "See you later. Love you."

"Love you too." he stammered, still shocked at the two of them.

When did they start playing nice?

Aiden checked on the babies belongings and kissed them both. Adam followed her into the hall to the elevator. He really had no idea what to expect with her. She seemed mad and eager at the same time. Why was she so completely confusing to him? He thought he would have figured her out by now, at least some of her anyways. She never ceased to confound him though.

As the elevators closed she took his hand. His breath hitched in an automated response any time he had contact with her. Hand holding was innocent and juvenile, the reaction he felt was electric and anything but.

She still had said nothing, and he wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad sign. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it.

He caught a ghost of a smirk play across her face, "Don't be so charming."

He fought a smile, "Why not?"

"Because being charming gets you into trouble." she stated matter of factly, stepping off of the elevator.

They walked to his car and drove to the hotel she was staying at.

* * *

"How do you always get nicer rooms than me?" he asked looking around the spacious presidential suite.

"Because I know all the right people. Wine?" she asked, going into the kitchenette.

"Beer, if you have it." he replied going to the couch and taking a seat.

He leaned back to peek into the bedroom down the hall, "So where's Alex at?"

She handed him his beer and sat next to him, "He's still in Japan avoiding you and Mollie."

Adam nodded taking a long drink. Her close proximity was making him nervous for some reason.

"And Lexie?" he continued trying to get a hold of himself.

"She's with my parents." she took a sip of her dark wine, "They actually bought the pay-per-view to watch. I think my brothers talked them into it."

"That was nice of them. I can't believe you actually knew that this was a pay-per-view event." he teased.

"Whatever. I think they're coming around finally." she laughed.

They fell into a heavy silence.

Finally he spoke, "You didn't really react to me having to retire. Are you okay with that?"

Her eyes grew dark immediately, "I have a very good poker face, but really Adam I was terrified."

She looked away from him when the tears began to fall. He was surprised. He had no idea she still cared for him that much, especially after everything they had gone through.

"Hey, don't cry." he frowned pulling her to his chest.

He felt her tiny fist curl into his shirt; he felt her hiccup with sobs.

"Shhh Aiden. It's okay. This is the whole reason I'm retiring. I don't want anybody to worry. I'm going to be okay honey." he quieted her.

She pulled away from him turning in the opposite direction.

"Aiden don't shut me out. We've always been able to talk to each other." he begged, "Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want to make this about me." she sobbed into her hands.

"What do you mean? I just want you to talk to me. I don't care who or what it's about, okay?" he reassured, his hand going to her shoulder to gently turn her.

"I never realized…I could never understand how everyone felt after almost losing me. I hated and resented how they treated me after that." she cried, "And now you…when you said you could be paralyzed or…or die…it was like everything just stopped. I had been so mad at you and for what? _For what?_ It doesn't even matter now. It was _stupid_. I was so stupid and selfish."

"Aiden, baby…" he pulled her to his chest again his lips kissing her head through her fragrant hair, "You're not stupid. You were mad at me for a very good reason actually. You don't have to feel bad for it. And nothing is going to happen to me, at least not in the ring. Tonight was my last match; I swear to you on our kids, I'll never wrestle again."

She looked up at him still crying, "I'm sorry for being mad. I'm sorry for keeping them from you Adam. I won't do it again."

"Okay, okay, _you_ need to calm down because you're scaring _me_ now." he said, his brow furrowing in concern.

He cradled her face with his free hand, "I'm fine. Stop crying. I hate to see you cry."

His thumb brushed away her tears gently.

_Shit_…he was getting lost in her eyes.

They looked like someone had set the sky on fire and were pulling him in like they always did.

"Did you want another beer?" she hiccupped pulling away quickly and going to the kitchen again.

"Sure." he answered running his palms up and down his thighs.

She had felt it too.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that they were no longer together like that. They were co-parents and were involved in other relationships with other people.

He looked down at his member who was completely betraying him, "_Stop it._"

"Stop what?" Aiden asked coming back to the couch.

"N-nothing. Just talking to myself." he mumbled, downing half his beer quickly.

They sat in awkward silence for several moments. He even went back to the kitchen for another refill and to bring her wine bottle in the room for her.

"In all seriousness Ai, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario I'll have to have another surgery to fix whatever is wrong with my arms but that should be it." he told her, "If anything else comes up, you'll be the first to know."

She nodded and he could see the tears well up again.

"The…the surgery…it won't be bad right?" she whispered as tears fell down her cheeks again.

"It shouldn't be. I've had a lot worse kid, trust me." he laughed trying to alleviate the tension.

He watched her fret as if he hadn't said anything at all to reassure her. He knew a lot of it was that she was comparing their similar situations.

"If anything happened to you…" she trailed off, her lip trembling in fear.

Before he even knew what he was doing he tipped her chin up and closed his mouth over hers. He swallowed her startled whimper and slanted his head to gain further access. He didn't dare allow his tongue to venture against hers because he knew there would be no coming back from that.

"I'm sorry Aiden…_shit_…I'm really sorry." he grated out sliding as far away from her as he could.

"Don't' stop…" she barely whispered.

She was surprised she had even said it. He didn't give them time to think or debate the ramifications of what they were doing, he pounced on her, trapping her beneath him. He spread her legs wide with his body. His mouth was everywhere on her igniting her skin with every press of his lips, with every scrape of his teeth, every lick of his tongue.

She busied herself with the task of undressing them. She yanked his shirt over his head, tousling his already wild hair. He sat up to undo his belt as she unzipped the side zipper of her dress.

"Take off your panties." he growled, feeing himself from the confines of his jeans.

He saw her hesitate so he reached under the hem of her dress and snapped the band of her underwear. He threw them to the floor, pushing her dress up to ready himself.

"Adam…" she squealed in panic.

"What?" he gasped staring down at her.

"I…..this is…" she was embarrassed, "Just take it easy on me. This is the first time since I had the twins."

He was dumbfounded, "You and Alex haven't…?"

She shook her head and quickly turned scarlet. He stood up and dropped his jeans on the floor and sat back down in the middle of the couch.

"Take that off and come here." He commanded, stroking himself as he watched her.

She straddled him, sitting back on his knees to avoid any penetration.

"You take the lead baby. That way I won't hurt you." he murmured.

She kissed him gently, a silent thank you for understanding. She rose onto her knees, looking fearfully down between them. She had been talking herself out of this moment for months.

She felt him at her center and flinched.

"Go slow honey. Take your time." he instructed, his hands going to her hips to guide her.

The descent onto him was maddening. It was intense pleasure and pain for them both until she was finally seated all the way onto his lap.

He was panting. Sweat had beaded up on his forehead from his efforts to remain still.

She was empowered. She was finally in touch with her sexuality again for the first time since giving birth.

She lifted up and came back down on him, clenching his thighs between hers. He let out a loud groan, letting her know exactly how much he was enjoying her being in control. She moved again, this time rocking her hips in a satisfying swaying motion pushing him ever deeper into her.

"Whoa, hold on for a second." he gasped, "Fuck! How do you keep getting better Ai?"

She laughed, dropping her head to rest on his shoulder. His breathing became staggered when he felt her walls tighten around him. She was flexing her muscles around him on purpose, teasing him further.

He bit her ear lobe, "You are back on birth control, right?"

She bit his neck hard enough to elicit a hiss from him, "Unless you switched my pills again, yes, I am."

He bit her lip and thrust into her, "Just making sure."

She restarted her pace; completely reveling in the sensations he was creating for her.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, his whole body slick with sweat, "You gotta hurry baby…shit, I can't…."

She impaled herself on him ignoring her aching thighs. All she wanted to feel was their release, preferably simultaneously.

"Aiden…Aiden…come on." Adam yelled, his whole body shaking.

That was all it took. The way his arms tightened around her, the impossible heat and friction between them sent her plunging head first into a screaming orgasm. He came into her just as loudly, bucking his hips into her frantically before finally stilling.

Aftershocks reverberated through her core prolonging her release even after she had stopped moving.

"You okay?" he asked trying to catch his breath.

"I need to shower." she mumbled into his neck.

"I think we both do." he chuckled, gently lifting her off of him.

He carried her into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped into the spacious stall when the water was hot and pulled her to him beneath the spray.

"This is déjà vu." he noticed, "The first time we had sex was in a hotel room and the second time was in the shower."

"I don't know if I can handle a second time yet." she moaned into his chest.

* * *

After a long leisurely shower they went to the bedroom and crawled beneath the sheets. She was resting her head on his chest and running her fingers up and down his midsection.

"What are we going to do now that you're retired?" she asked.

He exhaled deeply. He was actually very afraid of how this conversation was going to go. She had already told him she wouldn't keep the kids from him but how could he commit to a weekend? Every other weekend?

"I'm not really sure. I know I'll probably still do appearances, fan events, autograph signings, that sort of thing. I've got some TV offers too, but other than that I'll be home and available for you and for them." he said.

"I would rather they weren't exposed to all of that if you don't mind. I don't like that environment at all." she frowned.

"Okay." he agreed with a sigh, "Aiden, right now, you have all the power. You have to tell me what you want me to do."

She sat up to look at him, her hand going to his face.

"I told you I would make sure you got to see them and that they spent time with you and I meant that." she said softly.

"I know that. Its hard form me to imagine only seeing them one or two days a week and how will we do holidays and all of that. I know we need details and boundaries but I don't have a clue where to begin." he ran on, all of his fears making themselves known.

She kissed him once and looked into his eyes, "Do you think we could handle an every other week approach? I have them for a week and then you have them for your week?"

"You would do that? You would let them stay with me for that long?" he wondered, completely floored.

She nodded hesitantly, "I'm not going to say its going to be easy for me at all, but I know they need you just as much as they need me. Maybe we could have a little midweek lunch visit to kind of ease into it at first?"

"Aiden, we'll do whatever makes you comfortable." he assured her, "What about Mollie? Are you okay with them being around her?"

"Yes." Aiden rolled her eyes with a smile, "And maybe we could do holidays together, you know at least a few of them. If something comes up we can always figure something out and compromise."

He smiled, "I'd like that."

"Well that was simple enough." she laughed laying back down on him.

"I've got something else I've got to talk to you about." he said biting his lip.

She waited, watching him expectantly.

"As much as I enjoyed everything that happened earlier…we can't let that happen again. Even this, laying here with you now, it's _wrong_. Mollie and Alex would kill us if they ever found out." he groaned.

"I know. I completely agree with you. I love Alex and I know you love Mollie; it was just something about tonight. Everything just got so mixed up." she admitted.

"This can't happen again. We can't get caught up in each other anymore. We've got to leave this alone and it has to stay in the past from now on." he said growing serious.

Aiden narrowed her eyes at him, "I agree, but it feels like there's something you aren't telling me."

He leaned over and reached into his jacket pocket.

He sat a velvet box on his chest solemnly, "I bought this while you were gone and I want you to be the first to know."

"A ring huh?" she asked hovering between hurt and amused.

"Yeah." he confirmed.

The fucking thing felt like a hot ember on him.

"It's not the one you bought me is it?' she raised an eyebrow.

He wet his lips with a smirk, "I sold yours to get this one actually. I'm not _that_ big of an asshole."

"I just didn't want to make all of these plans with you knowing that she was going to kill you, that's all." she smiled, reaching for the box.

Adam held his breath as she opened it revealing the stunning, elegantly simply, emerald cut diamond. Even in the dim light it sparkled and shown.

"It's bigger than mine was." she noticed.

"Yeah." he hesitated, "I thought it would make her like it more."

"I think she'll love it." she finally spoke, closing the box again.

He kissed her cheek and put the box on the nightstand, "Are you sure you're okay with this? If you're not, you have to tell me Aiden. We have to be honest with each other from now or none of this will work."

"I think you'll be perfect together."

Adam felt his stomach drop when she looked in his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, reading her expression.

"Can I have you for the rest of the night?" she all but pleaded, "She can have you for forever in the morning."

Adam debated with himself for several moments before moving over her. She arched into him as he filled her to the brink again. Her nails dug into his back as his mouth hovered over hers.

"When we leave here it will be like this never happened." he said earnestly.

She nodded and closed her mouth on his at the same time.

They would deal with their future in the morning. For now it was just the two of them losing themselves in one another.

* * *

_**I know...I know...try to be nice :)**_

_**Merci beaucoup to: **_

_**xSamiliciousx, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, fairytink101, and Sarcastic Nightmare**_


	56. It Was All Worth It

_**Final Chapter! Thank you so much to AliceJericho who helped me finish this thing...**_

_**AT LAST!**_

* * *

Adam rolled over having just woken up. He groaned feeling his stiff body resisting against him. He was looking forward to not ever waking up feeling like that again. He could finally slow down and get the rest he had needed for years after his retirement that night.

He squinted against the dim sunlight. He was alone in bed.

"Aiden?" he called out, his voice scratchy from all the times he'd shouted her name last night in their ecstasy.

Her heels clicked on the floor, coming closer to the door.

"Hi." she blushed peeking in the room, "I've got breakfast waiting for you."

He smiled to himself, of course she did. Today was the beginning of a whole new reality for him and for his family. After tonight he would be pulled from the roster and from regular appearances. He would have to find a new way to make an income, not that he was terribly worried about that. He had always been smart with his money. Saying a final goodbye was not going to be easy though.

He pulled on his jeans and stepped into the dining room to join Aiden.

"What's all of that?" He questioned taking a s eat in front of his plate.

She was hastily gathering up numerous stacks of papers that littered the table.

"Nothing." she said sweetly after putting all of them into a bag, "I want to get over to Ajay's room to check on the twins."

"Yeah, we can do that." he agreed.

He watched her move around the room cleaning and organizing almost as if she were avoiding him.

"You okay?" he asked grabbing her arm.

Her honey colored eyes were hazy, "I'll be okay."

He pushed his chair back and pulled her onto his lap.

"Talk to me." he whispered, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

Her hand went to his cheek, "I'm worried about you."

"Why?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"Everything is so different now. You have to walk away from the one thing you love the most in this world…"

He put his hand over her mouth, "I love my kids. I love Mollie, and I love you. Nothing is more important than that."

She pulled his hand away, "You can't just be so blasé about this Adam. You weren't prepared for this at all."

He shrugged, "I'm excited. After the whole leaving part is over I know I'll be okay. I've got so much to keep me busy Ai. I'm not going to miss this, I can't. Staying here keeps me away from you and Rhett and Anabelle. I would never take that risk. I'm going to be okay, I promise."

She turned and put her arms around his neck tightly, "I just want us to be okay."

He kissed her neck, "We will be. I assured you last night remember?"

"Of course I remember." she said, hesitantly kissing his lips.

"You don't need one more round before we go, do you?" he groaned, hoping for a yes.

She pulled away instantly, "No. We can't do that anymore."

"I was joking, for the record." he laughed, "Let me take a quick shower and then we'll go."

He pulled his shirt off and lobbed it in her direction. She bit her lip when his jeans hit the floor and he sauntered back to the bedroom.

Quitting him was not going to be as easy as she thought it would be.

* * *

"There's Mommy and Daddy." Ajay sang when Adam and Aiden came into the room.

Adam immediately went to the twins. Aiden hung back letting him have his moment with them.

"How was everything last night? Did you talk?" Ajay questioned coming over to Aiden.

"Yes we discussed everything and have it all worked out." Aiden answered stiffly

Ajay smiled nervously, "That's good. I'm sure he's relieved that its all finally over with."

Aiden nodded slightly. Things were still tense between them and probably would be for awhile.

Aiden was trying to act calm and nonchalant about everything but she knew she was failing miserably. She was glowing from last night and there was no way she could hide it. Every time she caught eyes with Adam they both would smile. Luckily, Mollie was ignoring her completely by doting on the twins.

"Mind if we chat dear?" Gran smiled, taking Aiden's arm tightly.

She steered her out of the room before she could protest.

After the door closed, Aiden was instantly taken aback by the anger in Gran's eyes.

"Do you have any idea how obvious you and Adam were being in there?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"Obvious? What are you talking about?" she stuttered.

"Don't play dumb with me little girl. Did you have sex with him to get your way with **MY** grandbabies?" she asked angrily.

"What?" Aiden recoiled shrilly, "No. It wasn't like that at all."

"But you did sleep with him…again? After everything that's happened?" she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"Its none of your business what Adam and I do. We're both adults." she sputtered, trying to find some footing in the argument.

Gran took a step closer and pointed her finger in Aiden's face, "You're right. You are adults. You're married, he's in a committed relationship and you both have kids together. So help me, Aiden Martin, if you're using him for leverage it will not end well. You will have to answer to me and believe me, you don't want that."

"I am **NOT** using Adam. We had sex, it was mutual, we didn't mean for it to happen. That's it." Aiden argued.

"You know he still loves you. Do you really think that's fair?" she continued.

"We're not like that anymore. Last night was my fault. I didn't stop things like I should have." she frowned.

Gran stepped back glaring at her, "Aiden, you know how much I love you and how you've become a part of our family."

She nodded meekly.

"You're the level headed one. You're responsible enough to know better than this." she chastised.

"I know, _I know_." Aiden groaned.

"Is everything okay?" Adam interrupted, closing the door behind him.

"No, its not. What were you _thinking_ Adam?" Gran all but growled.

Once glance at Aiden and he knew exactly what she was referring to.

He sighed, "Shit…I-I wasn't thinking. It just happened."

Gran shook her head, "Both of you are insane if you thing going back and forth and falling into bed with each other is going to help anything."

Adam grimaced hearing her refer to their sex life, "That's not what we're doing. I swear."

"She said that you two worked everything out with the babies. Was that _before_ or _after_ you had sex with her?" she yelled.

"What are you implying exactly?" he hissed, "You think she used sex as a bargaining chip with the kids?"

"It would be the worst case scenario, but yes. She's kept them from you for over a month now, what am I supposed to suspect? I'm trying to _protect_ you Adam." she reasoned.

"I don't need protection from her. Aiden would never do something like that Gran, you know that." he frowned.

"I was going to wait until after you got back tonight, but for everyone's sanity, we can do this now." Aiden sighed, turning to go back inside.

"What is she talking about?" Gran asked, fearfully looking up at Adam.

He couldn't deny the chill of fear that went down his spine, "I have no idea."

"Is everything okay?" Ajay asked looking between the three of them.

She pulled a stack of papers out of her bag from that morning.

"Mollie, would you please look over these for Adam." she asked handing them to her.

"What is this?" Mollie questioned, looking at the papers skeptically.

Aiden turned to Adam, "These are legal documents that I had drawn up detailing the specifics we went over last night. I knew you would want a little bit of assurance on my part."

Adam's jaw dropped open, "You…you talked to your lawyer?"

He was really worried now. He had been present when her lawyer chewed Alex up and spit him back out. To say that he was terrified of that happening to him would be an understatement.

"Once you and Mollie look over everything, we can discuss any revisions and then both sign it." Aiden said, taking the papers from Mollie, "I'll go ahead and sign them that way, if you agree, they can be filed immediately."

"We didn't say anything about papers, or courts, or lawyers." he breathed.

He couldn't just forget that she had been gone for over a month with the twins and now here she was signing a custody agreement. It was all happening so fast.

She shook her head, "I know we didn't. I just thought this would give you a little peace of mind.

"This is a lot to review." Mollie sighed as she scrutinized each page.

"Take your time." Aiden encouraged, "I want us both to benefit from this."

"Can I take these with me?" Mollie asked.

Aiden nodded.

"I guess we better go then." Adam mumbled still unsure of how to take Aiden's gesture.

"I'll get back to you on these after I've gone through them _thoroughly_." Mollie glared, trying to figure out what Aiden's plan was.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." she smiled.

Gran nodded at Aiden, "I'm glad to see that you're standing behind your word."

"We both can be held accountable for our actions now. I think that's more than fair." she retorted.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ajay asked.

She was playing both sides of the fence on this one.

"Of course I do Ashton. You don't need to worry about it. This is between Adam and I." she snapped.

Ajay couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that Aiden needed to establish her independence where her family was concerned. She wasn't going to tolerate any interference from anyone anymore. Aiden was over being treated like a child.

Ajay was more than confused. Aiden had never been mad at her before.

"I know it is, but I just don't ever want you or the babies to be gone like that again." she cried, "Things have always been either really good or really bad with you and Adam. That's what worries me."

Chris touched his wife's arm, "Not now babe. She knows what she's going. We have to trust that. If she needs our help she'll ask, right Aiden?"

Aiden crossed her arms without answering. She wasn't in the mood to coddle or to be coddled. She needed to stand on her own two feet without everyone's incessant hovering.

"I'm sorry. I just want everyone to be happy." Ajay said, her eyes welling up.

"_So do I_." Aiden answered solemnly.

* * *

**FOUR HOURS LATER**

* * *

"Molls, I'm so happy for you!" Ajay gushed examining her ring.

Adam had popped the question before he announced his retirement to the world.

"We really will be sisters now." Mollie laughed hugging her.

She recanted the story of how Adam had proposed beaming as she included ever detail. Champagne was poured as the excitement grew. Jay and Jericho had joined in on the celebration after the show had concluded. Gran had taken the children into the room adjacent to Ajay and Chris'.

Mollie stopped Aiden from leaving, "Did you know he was going to propose?"

She squared her shoulders, "He mentioned it last night, yes."

She narrowed her eyes, "And you still had the papers drawn up?"

"I realized how much you mean to him and how my children have benefited from having you around. I meant what I said when I told you I wanted us to get along. Getting those papers drawn up was to back up my words with action." Aiden told her.

"I advised Adam to sign them. From what I saw everything was legit and fair." she said quietly.

Them having a normal conversation with no name calling or bickering was still way uncomfortable.

"I'm not going to screw him over. I really do want us all to get along." she smiled.

"Stranger things have happened I guess." Mollie laughed.

* * *

**SEVEN MONTHS LATER: THANKSGIVING DAY**

* * *

"This place is a fucking mad house." Alex groaned, hearing all of the commotion coming from inside Chris and Ajay's new home.

"Alex, watch your language." Aiden warned glancing back at Lexie who was obliviously watching a movie.

"She's got on headphones." he defended himself with a smirk.

"It won't be so bad once we get inside." she said unbuckling the twins.

"And have a few drinks." he added.

She rolled her eyes at him with a sigh.

He met her at the door and kissed her, "I'm _trying_ babe. Its still a little weird that we're all getting along. My ex is marrying your ex, its still _awkward_."

She looked down at Rhett, "We have to make it work for them. They _need_ Adam in their life."

Alex grimaced, "I know, I know…If I could forget what he did to you, what he did to _us,_ it wouldn't be so bad."

"Come in! We're so glad you're here." Ajay greeted upon opening the door.

Alex shook his head with a laugh at her consistently bad timing. He headed to the playroom with Lexie and Anabelle.

"When Adam told me you were bringing the twins today I was so excited. You know, because it was your holiday and everything." she rambled excitedly.

Things had gotten better between them. The only time they really ever had tense moments were where the twins were concerned. Aiden remained fiercely protective of them, standing her ground that they were her and Adam's responsibility **only**. Ajay took her role as their aunt seriously though and sometimes had to be reeled back in.

Aiden handed Rhett off to her, "Adam was pretty excited too."

Ajay smiled knowingly, "He definitely was. If you want to fix yourself a drink or whatever, we're still waiting on Gran."

Aiden made a face, "Where is she at?"

"In traffic. She didn't want to fly in this time. I know where I get my stubbornness from now." she explained leading her into the kitchen.

* * *

"Edna, good to see you again." Dr. Thomas welcomed her into his office.

"Good to see you too." she hesitated only a moment before getting down to business, "We both know what I'm here for. I'd like to make this quick. I'm late for my family's dinner."

The doctor nodded as he took a seat at his desk, "I do have a few questions, just for curiosities sake."

She placed two heavy envelopes on his cluttered desk.

"Make it quick." she repeated.

"Was it all worth it?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Edna took a deep breath as she reflected, "It was by no means a perfect plan. The end result wasn't exactly what I hoped for, but it's the second best solution. Mollie will make a suitable daughter-in-law in Aiden's place."

"You weren't even certain she would be able to carry another child, much less _two_, yet you still paid to have her artificially inseminated." he mused.

"I had faith in your abilities Dr. Thomas. You're the best, that's why I sought you out, not to mention how convenient as well. No one would suspect you after you delivered Lexie and saved Aiden's life the first time." she said tersely, "I paid for the procedure when you informed me there was no way she would get pregnant naturally. Adam would have lost her completely then; and probably himself too in the process. I couldn't allow that to happen."

"Why meddle in their lives though? Especially Aiden's. Why not let fate have its way?" he asked pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"His life needed a purpose. He needed to finally be focused on something other than himself. He needed redemption for everything that went wrong with Joey. He needed her to be happy." she paused dramatically, "So I _gave_ her to him."

He shook his head with a knowing smirk. He had to hand it to the old lady, she had a plan and saw it all the way through.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you. I think you'll find that I added a little extra incentive to keep his between us." she informed, raising her chin indignantly.

He nodded slowly, "You have the last of the papers detailing the actual procedure that took place. The secret is yours to keep now."

She left the room satisfied that the whole thing was finally finished. She could enjoy her Thanksgiving now in peace. Afterwards she would burn the papers and no one would ever know the lengths she had gone to ensure Adam's future with Aiden. She made sure that he got the family he had always wanted with her.

When it came to her grandchildren she would stop at nothing to ensure their happiness. Not that anyone would ever know just how far she had gone to give them their happiness. She would be taking that secret with her to the grave.

She pulled into her granddaughter's driveway with a smile on her face. Everyone was gathered in the living room celebrating another holiday together. She saw Adam and Aiden standing together in front of the bay window, watching the snow fall with their children.

Her heart melted when she saw the genuine look of satisfaction on Adam's face. He was finally content with his place in life. He had Aiden and their children to center and motivate him for the rest of his days.

Gran wiped at her eyes, "It was all worth it."

* * *

_**~Fin~**_

_**Thank you to my lovely reviewers: Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, AliceJericho, xSamiliciousx, Sarcastic Nightmare, babygirlleahrox, PassionWriter101, SBMFanatic, littlemisssunshinexx, AerLynn, Babykiad, SoliePower, Sophie, grleviathan, MotorcityGirl, baby, TJ Sparkles, Irshbeth, and betterthanyou47. **_

_**There were SO many of you! Love you all and thank you for being such an inspiration and for sending me so much love!**_

_****MUAH****_


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